Sometimes You Just Can't Help It
by Pure-HP
Summary: AU Hermione loves Draco. He doesn't know. She was all alone until someone found out. Suddenly, trouble has come along, and there are only a few people who can help her.
1. Sometimes You Just Can't Help It

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters that you recognise (I have none of my own, so that's all of the characters). Hope you enjoy the story.

**Sometimes You Just Can't Help It.**

Chapter 1; How Do You Know?

Hermione was lying on her enormous four-poster bed with her hands behind her head. She groaned. This year had just gotten worse and worse. Sure, she was a prefect but that wasn't entirely helpful. She had her own room and the common room was only shared with four people; herself, Terry Boot of Ravenclaw, Susan Bones of Hufflepuff and Draco Malfoy of Slytherin. They were the other prefects.

It was bad because her two best friends now had girlfriends. Harry was dating Ginny and Ron was dating Susan Bones. Hermione didn't have a boyfriend. She didn't find anyone remotely interesting, except for one person. The only problem was that that person was her best friends' enemy. _And hers come to think of it. Hermione was in love with Draco Malfoy and to have him sharing a common room with her for the next three years when he felt nothing for her was torture._

She had beaten herself up enough over it. She couldn't tell her best friends because they would disown her, so she had kept it a secret from everyone. It ate her up inside. Malfoy hated her; he was quite clear about that. It didn't bother her that much, after all, it was forbidden.

Hermione groaned again, got off her bed and went down to the common room, hoping against hope that he wasn't down there, he wasn't. She sat down next to Susan Bones.

"Hey Suzy, not out with Ron?"

Susan laughed and carried on writing on the parchment Hermione hadn't noticed. She finished her sentence she was writing, set her quill down and leaned back on the chair. She turned to face Hermione. "I had homework to finish and Ron has very important lazing about to do. So while Ron is _very important to me, I think I want to get through school first."_

Hermione laughed. She understood perfectly just how one tracked Ron's mind was. Lazing came before homework. Then he could just badger Hermione into doing it for him. "So how are you two getting along?"

Susan smiled happily. "We're great. But you already know that. He is your best friend after all and you do hang around with us most of the time." Susan stopped to think for a minute. "Except for when he asks you when you're going to get a boyfriend, then you scamper off until all's clear."

Hermione shook her head dangerously "Don't even try it Susan. There's nothing to tell. If I went into the emptiness of my love life, I'd never dig myself out of the depression."

Susan nodded sympathetically. "Want to do some much needed homework?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes and Susan. "No need to poke fun! I've done all my work and revision anyway. Want to take a walk outside?"

"It's raining!"

"Oh live dangerously for once Suzy. Coming or not?" Hermione stood up, grabbed her cloak off the sofa and made her way to the portrait hole. 

Just then, it opened and in walked a very wet Malfoy. Hermione couldn't help herself. They way his wet shirt clung to his muscles made her blush. Malfoy hadn't even looked at her so he didn't notice. Susan did.

"I'll be back in a min Hermione, need to get my cloak". Susan said, effectively hiding a smile. She left for her dorm to go and fetch it. "Oh, and Hermione," She shouted back at her. "Make sure you're not wearing a white t-shirt!"

Hermione blushed. Malfoy had heard that and he raised an eyebrow, she ignored him. Thankfully, she was wearing a black sweatshirt. _Hmmm probably not the best attire, it can get really heavy when wet. She magically changed it to a black polo-shirt._

"You know that you're not supposed to use magic out of class Granger." Malfoy said.

Hermione turned to look at him. "It's not in the corridor Malfoy and only you saw. I doubt that I could have any bad influence on you so screw you Malfoy. Go and bother someone who actually gives a damn."

Malfoy raised an eyebrow and lowered his very wet self onto the couch. Hermione narrowed her eyes again but didn't say anything. He'd never learn.

Susan returned with her cloak. "Ready to go?"

Hermione nodded.

*               *               *               *               *

"I have to hand it to you Hermione, you're not scared."

Hermione turned to Susan, puzzled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

They were walking out in the rain. They had only been out for a few minutes and were already soaked to the bone.

Susan couldn't help but grin. "Well you fancy Malfoy and yet you give him a right talking to. Well shouting to."

Hermione stopped dead. She had turned a sickly shade of white. Word had failed her and she just stood there, she mouth open.

Susan laughed "Close you mouth Hermione, or you'll drown."

Hermione narrowed her eyes, closed her mouth and choked out, "I don't know what you're talking about. How could you say something like that? It's gross and obscene and disgusting. Totally degrading." Then she said more quietly "How long have you known?"

Susan smiled. "Oh, about five minutes. I'm not a gossip Hermione. I know that Malfoy's…what's the word…well there isn't one that does him justice, but just think of what Harry and Ron would say if they found out."

"I know! Why the hell do you think I haven't told anyone? I couldn't bare it if they disowned me. Malfoy's not worth that. No one is." Hermione was close to tears but pushed it away. The last time she had cried was when Voldemort had been defeated by Harry, Ron, everyone imaginable and, surprisingly, Draco Malfoy. That had been at the end of last year so, not that long ago.

They sat down on a particularly flat rock. Susan was trying to console her but she kept smiling. "It's not that bad. It could be Goyle."

Hermione glared. 

Susan shook her head. "Look, just forget about it. It's not meant to be. I won't tell anyone, you won't blush when you see him! And everything will be just dandy?"

"Dandy? What does that even mean?" Hermione smiled anyway and said. "That's what gave it away huh? The blushing."

Susan giggled and she kept on giggling. "Of course. When you saw him all wet and Malfoyish, you blushed redder than the Gryffindor colours. I suppose that that is why you always avoided talking about it to you best friends huh?"

Hermione nodded mutely. "I can be omitting, but I can't lie. I've never lied to them."

"Yeah, I remember, Ron said that you never told him who you were taking to the Yule Ball."

Hermione smiled "That was funny."

Suddenly, the rain stopped, they clouds cleared and the sun came out. "That's what you get for living in the UK." Susan said. "Rain one moment, sun the next."

"Yeah, well at least we'll dry up."

"Unless it starts again."

"I thought you said that you were doing your homework."

Hermione and Susan turned around to see Ron standing behind them, laughing and looking only slightly wet. Susan wrinkled her nose and said "Well you haven't been out long. I finished my homework and decided to come out here and drown."

"Riiight. How are you girls?"

Hermione moved over on the rock "Pull up a bit of rock Ron."

Ron was confused again. "Huh?"

"Sit down dummy!" Susan said exasperatedly.

"Oh right. You girls and your slang."

Both of them rolled their eyes. Ron sat down. "Why so wet?"

Both girls frowned and decided not to answer this particularly annoying question. "Where's Harry, Ron?" Hermione asked.

"We're not attached to the hip, how should I know?"

Hermione gave him a piercing look.

"He's at Quidditch practice. The rain stopped and he decided that it would be a great time to train the team."

Susan giggled. "Why they made him captain, I'll never know. I swear he pushes the team too hard. Ron, why aren't you there? You are Keeper."

Ron was in a daydream but was pulled back to Earth with a thump when she said this. "Oh shit! I forgot!"

Hermione was incredulous. "You forgot? You've been on the team for a few months, you've always wanted to play Quidditch for Gryffindor and now you've finally got it and you FORGOT?!"

"I know. What do I do?!"

"Run you dimwit!" Hermione shouted, laughing.

After Ron had sprinted away Hermione turned to Susan. "He was just talking about it for God's sake. I bet he even saw Harry before he left for practise."

Susan shrugged. "What can I say, he's an idiot. But I still love him."

Hermione grinned manically. "You do?"

Now it was Susan's turn to glare. "Don't even try it Granger. You've forgotten that I know who you love and if you even try and tease me, the whole school will know about you by tomorrow morning."

"And you said that you promised."

"Just a little warning."

Hermione grumbled. "There's nothing wrong with loving Ron. I love Ron and Harry, totally platonically, so I think it's sweet. It's cute that Ginny loved Harry for, like, ever and they finally got together when Harry finally realised that the person he really loved was right under his nose the whole time."

"Babbling Hermione."

"I know, but it's sweet. Malfoy's soulless."

Susan shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Draco Malfoy is not soulless. He has a soul, how else could he survive? How else could he be?"

"It's cold, there's nothing there. He has no compassion."

"I wouldn't be so sure. People can surprise you. Tell me Hermione, what did you first think of Harry and especially Ron when you fist met them."

Hermione instantly said. "That Ron was a soulless git with no compassion and a dumbass. Oh."

"There you have it. Weren't you wrong?"

Hermione giggled "Sometimes he isn't and he can be really sweet, but then there are the times when he just pisses me off. But yes, I was wrong"

"Good, now do you want to get back to the castle because no matter how warm it looks right now, I'm freezing."

Hermione nodded and they headed back to the castle. When they got through the doors, they bumped into Terry Boot. "Hi Terry, what's up?"

"Hey Hermione. Wow you're wet."

"And freezing" Susan said. "Don't forget freezing."

Terry smiled kindly. "So I was looking for you and look, I found you."

Hermione yawned, she was tired and wet and standing here was not drying her off any quicker. "What did you want?"

"Oh, just to tell you that lessons are cancelled. McGonagall told the castle and I think you two were the only ones not there."

"Why are they?" Susan asked. "I did all my homework too! This is just wrong."

Terry chuckled. "Do you honestly think that McGonagall would tell us that?"

"Guess not." Hermione said. "Thanks Terry, now if you'll excuse us, we have to go and change before we soak to death."

Terry nodded and they left. 

*               *               *               *               *

Hermione and Susan were sitting on the couch. 

"Hermione, why don't you tell Malfoy?" 

Hermione looked shocked, glanced around wildly and said in a whisper "Could you not say his name? I don't want him to hear! He could be anywhere."

Susan smiled. "Fine, but can we talk about it if I don't say his name? Then he won't know we're talking about him if he happens to walk in."

"Talking about it gives me the squirmies, but fine, if it'll keep you from going goo goo."

"Thank you." Susan moved closer so the she could whisper. "So why don't you?"

"Because I would like to live to see my 16th birthday thanks."

"He wouldn't kill you just because you told him that you _like him!"_

Hermione rolled her eyes and laughed, "Not him, your boyfriend and Harry."

"Oh, they'll get over it."

Hermione looked at Susan as if to say '_You don't understand at all'_. "They would never forgive me Suzy. They hate Malfoy. I know they do, as he hates them…and me."

"Now who's saying the name?"

Hermione clamped her hand over her mouth. He had just come down the stairs. Susan was laughing manically. Hermione didn't know what to do. Had he heard?

Apparently he didn't because he kept on walking past them and sat on the other couch, totally oblivious.

Susan was a bit disappointed. "Looks like its true what they say about boys huh? They are totally deaf."

"Thank the lord for that. Can we stop this now, huh? It's not big news. By the way he looks, I wouldn't be surprised if more than half the female population were in love with him."

"Sure, I just didn't expect it from you. That's all."

"What can I say, I am good, or bad, depending on how you look at it, with surprises."

"Yeah, you know what they say don't you? You can't help who you love."

"Too right."

*               *               *               *               *

Damn, I hate first chapters. I'll update soon.

Please review and please don't flame.


	2. Halloween Discussions

Disclaimer: Obviously, I own nothing you recognise.

Chapter 2; Halloween Discussions

"GOD DAMN IT!" a vase flew across the room, smashed, and was instantly repaired.

Hermione was not having a good day, firstly, her lessons were cancelled which was becoming a recurring thing since Voldemort's attempt to break into the wizardry school and secondly, it meant having to spend an entire day with Malfoy (And the other prefects) in the common room so that they could sort out their upcoming meeting with Dumbledore about the decorations for Halloween.

"Sometimes it really sucks, being a prefect." She said, getting out of her too bright bed, combing her hair, brushing her teeth and heading downstairs to face the torture she was almost certain to have to endure.

The three prefects were already there. "Had a good sleep Hermione?"

"Yes thanks Suzy." Hermione said sarcastically which Susan did not miss.

"Did you and the vase have a disagreement then?" She asked all too innocently.

"Yes Suzy, it wanted me to put flowers in it and I said that that was not what a vase was for."

Susan nodded in understanding. "Of course not. Want to come and join us?"

"Do I have a choice in the matter?"

Now Malfoy spoke. "Depends on whether you want to keep that badge of yours. Just come and sit down Granger, we've already wasted enough time as it is."

Hermione scowled, the only place left was next to Malfoy. She glared at Susan with a look the plainly said _'I know that you did this on purpose' _but Susan was keeping the gaze averted, pretending that she couldn't feel Hermione's gaze burning into the side of her head.

Hermione walked over and sat next to Malfoy. She couldn't help noticing the heat that radiated from him.

"Right, so what are we meant to be doing then?" Hermione asked.

Susan drew the notes that had been taken in Hermione's absence towards herself and said "Well we need to decide what colours we are going to decorated the hall in. well I suppose that that is quite obvious."

Hermione nodded, trying to bring he mind back to the task at hand which was getting more difficult now that Malfoy was touching her slightly. "U…um, I take it th…that you want to decorate the hall with the prominent house colours?"

Terry shook his head. "We want to decorate it in the less used colours. You know, Gold for Gryffindor, Sliver for Slytherin, Black for Hufflepuff and Bronze for Ravenclaw."

Hermione smiled, shakily (which Susan also didn't fail to notice). "I think that's brilliant. Normally it's red, green, yellow and blue. This will make it more unusual and bright."

Susan laughed melodiously "Totally unlike Halloween. I guess we can be a little different from time to time. Well we'll have to run that by Dumbledore. I'm sure he'll just love it, judging by his eccentric nature."

Malfoy yawned. "Is there anything else that we have to do? Choosing the music? deciding what we eat?"

Susan shook he head "No Draco, that's all Dumbledore asked us to do for now. He said that once that is completed, we would have to go and see him and he would give us further instructions."

Hermione tried to listen. She was doing pretty well. Managing to nod at all the right moments and participate in the conversation where necessary but it took all of her Gryffindor patience and courage not to take quick sideway looks at Malfoy. His once slicked-back hair fell freely. He had cut the nasty gel out last year. He was well toned and too yummy to think about.

Hermione shook her head to clear it of the thoughts the unmercifully plagued her whenever she was around him. She hated it. _'Why me?!'_ she thought for the hundredth time. Godric Gryffindor would be deeply ashamed of her if he could see her like this over a Slytherin.

Susan was still talking. "Well Dumbledore didn't see any reason for all of us to go down and give him our ideas for decoration. He has asked for two of us to go down. In other words, Terry and I." She shot a sideways look at Hermione who instantly got that this too was planned and vowed to get her own back when the next opportunity became available.

Susan and Terry left through the portrait hole. Hermione stood up, her legs just about to lose their feeling, and walked over to the large couch, carefully avoiding Malfoy's eyes. He however had different ideas. 

Settling himself on the couch too, he began to talk to Hermione. "So is it true Granger?"

Hermione heart rate picked up 4 or 5 notches. She wasn't afraid of talking to him, but they way he said it made it sound as if he knew exactly what Hermione was feeling. "What?" she asked quietly.

"That you're annoyed that lessons are cancelled."

Hermione shot him a look. It was half exasperated half mocking. "No Malfoy, I value my time off. I'm annoyed that I have to spend the whole day in your annoying, detest full company." She hated saying it but she'd rather die than tell someone who hated her enough to wish her off this bloody world that she longed to be in his company. He would never like her. It only bought Hermione misery when she thought about it so she forbade it.

Malfoy nodded knowingly. "I know exactly how you feel Granger." He looked pointedly at her. 

Hermione forced a smile, willing herself to damn the prickling sensation that had begun behind her eyes. _'I will not cry, it's not worth it_' "Right, and to that, I'll retreat to my room, to leave you to yourself. I have homework anyway."

Malfoy knew on some level that he had hurt her. Her quick wit and brain did not make her a good liar and equally terrible at hiding her emotions. He covered. "No one asked you to go anywhere and you expect me to believe that you have homework to do? You actually begin the homework as soon as it's set, even if that means during the lesson." He smirked.

Hermione scowled. So she was a little enthused, that wasn't unnatural. She just liked magic and the work she was given. "Always the idiot, huh Malfoy? What's so wrong with me actually liking the work I'm set? Does that make me odd, teacher's pet?"

Malfoy chose not to answer that. "What makes you think that you're stuck here all day? Which law said that? It's up to you if you want to leave. You don't have lessons, it's not a prison sentence." He sighed and shut his eyes, leaning his head back on the couch.

Hermione slowly made her way back to the couch and sat down beside him. Malfoy, feeling the slight dip next to him opened his eyes. "Not leaving huh?"

"I just want to know why you don't call me mudblood anymore. It's always 'Granger' or 'that Gryffindor scum'. Why don't you?"

Malfoy shrugged then smirked. "I don't know. It just seems a little childish. Like saying 'don't touch me, I might catch something. Just doesn't seem worth it anymore. It seemed childish saying it back it fourth year."

Hermione scoffed and dropped her gaze to the singed carpet near the fireplace, getting lost in the flames. "Doesn't stop you thinking it though does it?" She said it quietly, not even sure if she was intending him to hear it but he did. She didn't even know why she said it.

Malfoy looked at her, she was still lost it her own thoughts and the smirk dropped from his face. She hated to be hated by anyone. All Hermione had ever tried to do was get along with people, even if they were in Slytherin. When they picked on her, she did nothing, ignored it if she could. Even now, she was speaking civilly to him.

"I don't know, what do you expect me to think? I won't be as foolish to lay all the blame on my upbringing but…" he shrugged.

Hermione shook her hair out of her eyes and looked at him. "I feel sorry for you Malfoy. No one can be as hard and cruel as you without having something terrible happen to them."

She used her arms as leverage, to get her off the chair and left the room the same way as Susan and Terry had.

She left Malfoy there to think about that and headed out to the Quidditch grounds. Dragging her feet and making a very slow job about it. She hated her life, going to school was great but living in the same place as the guy you were in love with while he didn't know much less liked you.

As Hermione was paying no attention whatsoever as to where she was walking, keeping her head down and everything, she banged right into someone. Falling right on her arse. She looked up at the person and allowed herself a groan of pain. "Sorry Ginny."

Ginny offered her hand to Hermione to help her up. She accepted. "Lost in your own world? Me too. Sorry about the fall."

Hermione laughed, "At least it proves which of us is the stronger."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "What's with the sad look?"

"Is it so hard to believe that I have issues?"

Ginny sat on the grass and Hermione followed. "Not so much. You do work yourself to the bone. You should take a rest sometimes and let the other prefects take over. How is it like living with Malfoy?"

Hermione muttered something inaudible under her breath and sighed.

"Sorry Hermione I didn't actually catch that, what with the fire escaping your mouth and all. Did you say that it's the best time of your life?"

Hermione glared at her best female friend. "I most certainly did not." Though she was thinking it. She was in two minds about the whole thing. "Anyway, it's not the work that's got me exasperated. It's everything around it."

"Ah, well do you want to get away from it all for a while and find out about Harry and I?"

Hermione lay on her back on the grass. "Sure, hit me. How are you both?"

"We're great. He's so lovely Hermione."

"I know Gin, he is my best friend remember? Do you honestly think that he'd be my best friend if he wasn't?"

Ginny blushed. "Did you ever fancy him?"

Hermione laughed. It was short and abrupt. "No Gin, I didn't. He's so much like my brother and not Ron either." She added, reading Ginny expression.

"Right, so how is it like, living with Malfoy. Tell me the truth."

Hermione didn't want to answer. She didn't have to tell Ginny that she was in love with him. It was just that she had to try and describe his behaviour towards her and that was difficult enough. "As tolerable as a Malfoy can be. We keep out of each other's way as much as possible. It's hard when you have to live under the same enchanted ceiling as someone who despises you with all their being."

"O do I detect a bit of unhappiness there?" Ginny asked grinning.

"Well you might like being hated by a quarter of this school but I do not."

Ginny sighed. "You might be all for peace and unity Hermione, but that will never happen. Cruel people will always hate what they cannot understand."

Hermione put her face in her hands and groaned. "I know that Gin. I guess that I just have a hard time in understanding why. Silly huh? Coming from the cleverest witch this school has to offer."

Ginny grinned. "All for the modesty I see."

"You have to be in this world or they'll trample all over you."

Ginny was in the process of laughing but stopped when she looked over Hermione's shoulder. "Hermione, I think you're being called."

Hermione turned around and saw Susan and groaned again. "Here we go. I have to go Gin. Halloween party things to organise."

Ginny nodded and Hermione left to follow Susan.

*               *               *               *               *

Please review. That chapter is over. Please don't flame. Thank you.

Dina.


	3. A Day in the Life of Hermione Granger

Disclaimer: The plot is mine, nothing else.

I want to take the time to thank everyone that has reviewed my story, so here goes. Oh, and thank you for waiting ages for this update.

**Hi: **Thank you for the extremely short review.

**Amy O B:** I don't intend to add humour, it just happens sometimes J I also want to thank you for reviewing my other fic. I always get worried because I think that people won't like what I write. People have different interests after all.

**Nikki: **Thank you. I like fluffy, just not so soon. I am intending it to be in both Draco and Hermione's point of view.

**Totaloser: **Nice. Um, I guess that the reason the Hermione loves him, even though she thinks he's soulless is because he has never given her a reason to think otherwise. And also, you can't help who you fall in love with, isn't that right?

**B-chan and Syaorons angel: **What can I say, you also review my other fic and I am ever grateful for it. Thank you so much for your reviews because they are always lovely.****

**Bloody Love: **I know that I didn't get the next chapter out soon enough. I apologise but it's here now, right? J

**RianSapphire9: **Thank you ever so much for that review.****

**Chillkroete:** I try to put a lot of description into my fics because I like people to get a feel about what I am writing and to see it how I do. Does it work?

Now on with the story. :)

Chapter 3; A Normal Day in the Life of Hermione Granger…

Hermione and Susan were walking slowly through that castle, heading back to their common room. It was extremely obvious that Susan was itching to ask Hermione something. When Hermione could take it no longer, she asked. "What do you want to know Suze?"

Susan turned to her, grinning. "What did you say to Malfoy after Terry and I left? We got back in and he was mightily pissed off.

Hermione shrugged and gave the password to their portrait. "I told him he was cruel and that something terrible must have happened to him to behave the way he does around people."

"Hmmmm" Susan replied, eyebrow raised. 

They walked into their common room. None of the boys were in there. "Susan?"

Susan looked at Hermione to show that she was listening and took a seat on the couch beside the fire. Hermione joined her.

"Did we get anymore instructions from Dumbledore? You know, about the Halloween ball."

"Oh, no. He was very pleased with the colours we had chosen and said that he expected us to do something mind-bogglingly brilliant like that, he actually used those words."

Hermione laughed. "What else did he say? If we aren't doing it, then who is?"

Susan rolled her eyes and took her cloak off, putting it over the arm of the chair. "We aren't the only important students in the school you know. The heads are doing it. The heads do it every year, remember."

Hermione suppressed a laugh. She guessed that what people said about her was true. She was completely addicted to school and maybe it wasn't all too healthy. Suddenly, she got an idea. "Suzy, do you want to go somewhere, anywhere. I am tired of being stuck in the school all the time. I want to do something different and Un-Hermione-like."

Susan broke into an evil grin. "How about telling Malfoy that you love him? That should be as Un-Hermione-like as you can go, right? I know, we can do it now!"

Susan began to stand up with every intention of accompanying Hermione in that task. Hermione grabbed her robe and bought her crashing back onto that couch.

"You absolutely will not, Susan Bones! That is going beyond uncharacteristically Hermione, that is bordering on suicide. Do you remember who he has for a father? Say he takes it the wrong way, which he undoubtedly will, he tells his dad and I get murdered. What about school?! What will I do then?"

Susan laughed. "Well if you're dead, I doubt that you'll have to worry much about it, on account of you being dead. Is that all you think about? Anyway, I doubt that he would do that. Just tease you unmercifully for the rest of you school days and then some."

"I have already had the school-being-more-important-than-death conversation with Harry and Ron in our first year. Besides, I don't want to be teased unmercifully." She said it in such a way that it made her sound like a 9 year old child.

Susan sighed and straightened herself back onto the couch. "You're 16 years old woman! Pull yourself together! You do know that you'll have to tell him sometime although I do agree that right now isn't a good time, seeing the mood you have put him in. 

I know! Truth or Dare. That's un-you-like. We can invite people into this common room to play because we are allowed to have as many people here, as long as it's before curfew. How about it?" 

Hermione agreed. She wasn't happy about it, what if someone asked her the dreaded 'question' but she herself had said that she wanted to change, even if it was for a little while, but it would have to be tomorrow night because it was almost curfew.

"What now though?!" She moaned?

"I know" Susan said as she walked over to the fireplace. "Dobby!! Can we take please."

2 seconds later, Dobby appeared in the fire and stepped out of it. Unlike when people travelled by floo powder, Dobby was immaculate. "What is Miss wanting?" Dobby asked, bowing slightly.

Hermione rushed forward "How are you Dobby? Are many elves free now? Can you get us some food please? We can talk when you get back."

Susan turned to Hermione. "I thought that you didn't like it when house elves had to work for no pay and no respect."

"I don't like it," Hermione said as she and Susan settled themselves onto chairs beside the table that had magically appeared seconds below. They looked just like the ones in the Great Hall only smaller. "I despise that fact that they have to clean up after humans…but I was hungry and I did say please." Hermione beamed. Susan shook he head disappointedly.

Hermione rolled her eyes in exasperation and said "New Hermione remember?"

She got off of her place and walked over to the stairs that led to the boys bedrooms. Terry, Malfoy!!! Do you want to eat or not?! We have food coming. Your own choice." Then she went and settled back into her place next to Susan.

"You called for them?" she asked questioningly. 

Hermione shrugged again. "Well yeah. Dobby and the other house-elves always bring way too much food and I bet they'll bring enough to feed a whole house." (i.e. Gryffindor or Hufflepuff)

Sure enough, in the next second, there was a rush of footsteps coming down the stairs (typical boys, never full) and commotion behind the fireplace where the house-elves were getting ready to bring the food out.

2 minutes later, the table was set and all four prefects were seated around the rectangular table. "Terry and Malfoy blinked amazedly. "Are we allowed to have all this in here? Won't we get told off?"

Susan laughed. "No we are not allowed and no we won't get told off. When was the last time that a Head stepped foot inside this room let alone out own House common rooms."

That was enough for them and they tucked into their food. They finished in a very short amount of time indeed. When everyone was done, the tables and chairs vanished resulting in all four of them landing very hard on the floor, arses first. "I suppose that a few minor adjustments are needed!" Hermione said, laughing. The rest of them were laughing too, getting to their feet.

Hermione threw a look at Malfoy's laughing face. She had never seen him laugh meaningfully before and it was a dramatic change. He looked like a boy, happy and enjoying life. Of course, it immediately disappeared when he stopped laughing. Hermione found herself wishing that he would do it more often.

Susan acquired that manic glint in her eye that Hermione associated with trouble and groaned inwardly. "Hey guys, we have decided to have a game of Truth or Dare, here tomorrow, before curfew. Now as it is a prefect's room, people from every house can come. You don't have to play if you don't want to though. We just thought we'd let you know."

Terry and Malfoy exchange looks. "Well play." Malfoy said. "What time does it start and how many people can this room hold?"

"I think that we should allow only six people from each House. We can bring less people but not more. Agreed? And it starts at 7pm. Curfew begins at 11pm so that should give us enough time." Hermione said, looking at them each in turn.

Everyone nodded. "Good. Tomorrow is Saturday so it should be easy to ask people if they want to play, without interference from the teachers. I always wondered how people got along in the wizarding world without a TV"

The other three prefects looked at Hermione in confusion. As none of them were from a muggle family, they didn't know what a TV was. "Never mind."

"Right," said Susan, confusion still etched on her face. "We have to patrol the corridors now. Terry and I together, Draco and Hermione together. Now come on."

"Hold it!" Hermione bellowed. "Why do you always put us two together!" Hermione indicated herself and Malfoy.

"Well," Susan began innocently "you both are from the more prominent Houses so we thought it would be best for you to patrol together. Anyway, Dumbledore's all for interhouse you-know-what so we figured that it would be best…bye!" She said, dragging Terry out of the portrait hole.

Hermione glared at her friends retreating back.

Malfoy shrugged "Come on Granger, we don't have all night."

Hermione turned her glare to Malfoy who ignored it and complied. She wasn't really angry about it anyway. Although she didn't think that prefects patrolled together to begin with. Hmmmm, that was something to consider.

*               *               *               *               *

Hermione and Malfoy patrolled for half an hour and no one turned up. She kept conversation light and noncommittal. They were about to head back when they cam across a certain Slytherin who Hermione had no desire to bump into on a dark corridor with no one around but another Slytherin.

"Go back to your common room Pansy." Hermione snapped. She didn't want to deal with this right now. Pansy was annoying and so flaky.

"Or what mudblood? I don't have to do anything you tell me too." She said, advancing on Hermione.

Hermione didn't even bother to find out if Malfoy would do anything about a fellow Slytherin threatening a prefect.

"Well as a point of fact Pansy. You do have to do what she tells you to. She's a prefect and you're not." Malfoy said to her. 

Hermione looked at him shocked. He didn't look at her though. 

"Bu…but Draco." She gave him a look that plainly suggested something. It repulsed Hermione and by the looks of it, Malfoy too. 

"Get back to the common room Pansy or I will take points off." Pansy looked shocked. It was no surprise Hermione guessed, that even her own House mates didn't like her. Pansy threw a dirty look at Hermione, an adoring one at Draco and left, shuffling her feet as she went.

Hermione didn't dare say anything to Malfoy about it as they made their way back to the common room. He hadn't insulted her and she hadn't had too much of a hard time with him being around her so much. God forbid Susan actually telling someone.

Upon entering the portrait hole, they went their separate way and up to their own bedrooms.

Susan was waiting for Hermione. "God Suze! Go to sleep much?!"

"Yes, but not when there's gossip to be shared. What happened?"

"A plot on your part is what happened Susan and don't think that I'll forget it!"

Susan rolled her eyes. "Anything interesting?"

"If you mean, did he sweep me of my feet and make sweet, passionate, hungry love to me in the middle of the most darkened corridor in this school, then…" She paused dramatically "you betcha! now go to sleep!"

Susan groaned but knew better than to push Hermione too far at times like these. She would just have to wait for tomorrow when the games began. Susan fell asleep smiling.

*               *               *               *               *

I hope you liked it. Please review and please, please don't flame me.

Dina


	4. Truth or Dare

Disclaimer: Technically, I own nothing in the story except the plot…that is all.

A/N: I was browsing through Hr/D stories when I came across this one. I didn't look at the author (because I barely ever do) and I started reading it. It wasn't until halfway through the second chapter that I realised that the story was actually mine. That shows how long it's been since I update it and I feel just awful about it so here goes.

P.S. Seeing as this was (up until now) written before OotP, we will overlook the fact that there are two prefects from each house and that Pansy is, in fact, one of them. Also, I will be adding characters that we only heard of in OotP (i.e. Luna Lovegood and Michael Corner) but their stories will be different.

Chapter 4; Truth or Dare

By 6 o'clock the following day, the prefects had already asked everyone they wanted at the Truth or Dare game and each had agreed. The people playing were;

Gryffindor: Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom.

Slytherin: Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Blaise Zabini (who is male for this story of mine) and because trying to get rid of her was like trying to bring about world peace; Pansy Parkinson.

Ravenclaw: Terry Boot, Luna Lovegood, Anthony Goldstein, Michael Corner and Cho Chang (There has been no interaction between Harry and Cho, she went straight to Michael Corner in my story ok? Sorry to all H/C shippers).

Hufflepuff: Susan Bones, Hannah Abbott, Justin Finch-Fetchley, Ernie McMillan and Zacharias Smith (I don't like him either but he'll have to do).

As the game didn't start for another hour the prefects were in their rooms with the exception of Susan.

Susan sat on Hermione's bed brushing Hermione's long hair while she finished off her homework. "Susan, if you keep doing that, it is going to frizz out again."

Susan carried on of her own regard. "Since when do you care about how you look? Oh right, since you fell desperately in love with Draco Malfoy causing his very existence to turn you into a girly girl."

Hermione snorted in a very unladylike manner and bent and inch closer to her parchment in the hopes that it would un-stick Susan's hold on her locks. It didn't. "No. Since my hair tamed and my head stopped looking so big."

"Oh shut up. It never looked big."

Hermione shoved her parchment and quill into her bedside drawer and turned to her fellow female prefect (Susan had thankfully let go of her hair). "You try anything during truth or dare and I will personally see to it that you lose all your hair…and then some."

Susan chuckled. "That's not a very good threat Hermione. Those with magic on their side can rectify little accidents quite easily."

Hermione smirk was quite comparable to Draco's. "Yes, but in front of your boyfriend? Will he ever see you in the same light again? And so soon into your relationship…"

Susan eyes widened. "I'll behave." She said in a high-pitched voice quite unlike her usual tones.

Hermione smiled and donned the robe she had took off when entering her bedroom.

"You know Hermione, I'm worried about the effect that being around Draco Malfoy for too long is having on you. You seem to be turning into him. If you start to go blonde I'm having you shipped off to St Mungo's – the room next to Lockhart." Susan teased.

Hermione ignored her and walked out of the room. She was thankful that the female prefects had different staircases and landings to the males because of Susan's impulsive needs to shout out about how Hermione loved a Slytherin. God forbid said Slytherin were to ever accidentally overhear.

Susan followed not long afterwards. "You shouldn't leave people in your room you know, especially not one who knows your deepest _darkest _secret."

Hermione sighed and descended the stairs. "Susan, that's exactly why I can leave you in there and could you please stop talking about it? It's not like I interfere in your love life. I also don't want anyone to hear."

"What love life Granger?" A voice sneered for the common room.

Hermione turned to Susan who had her lips pressed tightly together to stop herself from laughing. It also resulted in turning her a peculiar shade of red. "See what I mean?" Hermione mouthed to her. Susan could do nothing but shake her head in mirth.

They entered the common room and looked and the blond. "That's none of your business Malfoy."

Susan, who was standing behind him, opened her mouth to protest but snapped it shut again when Hermione shot her a venomous glower.

"What are you doing down here anyway? Shouldn't you be upstairs, preening in front of a mirror or something?" Hermione only got incoherent when in extreme close proximity to him and being able to verbally assault him was still fun. It wasn't like he didn't do it to her at every given opportunity.

Susan sat down next to him. "So Draco, where's Terry?"

Malfoy, still glaring at Hermione, hissed. "In his room, preening in front of the mirror."

"Can't he hurry up?" she whined "I want to play Truth or Dare."

"I am not preening thank you _very_ much Draco." Terry said as he stepped off of the staircase. "And no one's arrived yet Suze." He took the seat next to Draco, put his hands behind his head and lay back on the couch.

"Do you mind!" Malfoy groaned "You reek."

He rolled his eyes at the Slytherin. "Oh I do not. I just had a shower."

"Preening!" Malfoy stated satisfied.

* * *

At 7 o'clock on the dot, four portraits in the prefects' common room (one that bore a Lion, the other a serpent, the other a Raven and the last a badger) burst open and four students strode in from each portrait hole.

The prefects were still sitting on the couch watching the onslaught of red, green, yellow and blue. When all the portraits were closed (Gryffindor's last as Neville had tripped over while walking through the hole causing Slytherin's to laugh and snigger), the prefects stood and levitated the couches out of the way so that there was more space to sit.

The students sat in a circle, which was very large due to their number.

"Right. There are a few rules." Hermione wasted no time in talking.

"There always has to be with you doesn't there Granger?" Pansy taunted.

Hermione levelled a glare at the pug-faced girl. "Trust me Parkinson. You'll like this." She turned to the group at large. "Rules are as follows; The wand chooses who starts first. Anyone who refuses to answer a question must take the dare that an opposing house gives, if they refuse that too, you will have to deal with the consequences. The consequences can be any number of things which will happen automatically. Everyone gets _one_ pass so use it wisely. A dare may be issued from the same house. There are no restrictions on that. That's all. See, that wasn't so difficult was is?"

Hermione laid her wand in the middle of the circle and let go. It started to spin incredibly fast and everyone just stared at it. Gradually it slowed down until it came to a stop at Neville. His eyes widened and they grew even bigger when it started to spin again. This time it stopped at Harry.

Harry looked at Hermione. "Care to explain Hermione?"

Hermione lifted her wand out of the middle of the circle and slipped it back into her robe pocket. "It's Neville's truth or dare and you get to ask him. Conferring is allowed."

Harry nodded once in understanding. "Neville, truth or dare?"

"Truth" Neville said with as much dignity as he could muster.

Everyone including the Slytherin's huddled together – of course they were going to be in for some Gryffindor bashing – while Neville stayed out so he wouldn't be able to hear.

They righted themselves and Pansy asked. "Have you ever kissed anyone?"

Neville turned bright red and mumbled his answer to the carpet.

"Sorry Longbottom." Pansy snarked though she didn't sound at all sorry, "but you're going to have to speak up. We didn't quite catch any of that.

"No." he said a little more loudly.

The Slytherin's smirked at him while the Gryffindor's looked on in sympathy.

"Pansy, truth or dare?" Neville said with an unusual glint in his eye.

"Dare!" If Pansy wasn't one thing, it was scared of Longbottom.

"I dare you to strip down to your underwear." He said with an equally unusual triumphant look on his face.

Everyone, including the Slytherin's, looked disgusted and inched away from her.

Pansy's smirk died on her lips but she still looked at him with a hardened gaze. "What if I'm not wearing any underwear?"

A collective shudder ran through the whole group. "God forbid." Malfoy muttered.

"You still have to do it. Although you do still have your pass." Hermione said unhelpfully.

Pansy shucked her robe. Her sweatshirt, skirt and polo shirt followed leaving her in a tacky shoot-me-I'm-so-vile plastic pink bra and knickers.

Even the Slytherin's groaned in distaste. Hermione was sure that even this act of illegal voyeurism wouldn't have been enough to distract her if she had been sitting next to Malfoy but as it was, she was stationed between Harry and Blaise.

"Lovegood, truth or dare?" Pansy screeched.

"Dare." Luna said dreamily, acting - in all respect - as if she didn't even realise that she was part of the game.

"I dare you to kiss Longbottom!" Pansy smirked at Neville. It was obvious that she thought that this was a brilliant way to pay him back for subjecting her to public nudity and disgrace – as if she didn't do that well enough on her own.

Luna snapped out of her dreamy state which Hermione suspected to be only the second time since she had known her. Luna shrugged, crawled across the circle and kissed a petrified Neville on the lips. He wasn't actually petrified but considering the stiffness of his posture, he might as well have been.

Luna returned to her place as Neville finally came out of his rigidity. "Um…Cho, truth or dare?"

Cho started but recovered quickly. "Truth."

Luna pondered for a moment before asking. "Have you ever kissed a Slytherin?"

Cho turned scarlet and looked around wildly. Hermione supposed that it was because she didn't want to answer but also because she didn't think that this was dire enough to use a pass on. Cho conceded and replied "I kissed Marcus Flint on the empty Quidditch pitch_ once_." She didn't elaborate any further which led everyone to believe that she had done it of her own free will.

"You kissed Flint?" Blaise asked. "Now that's disgusting. Did you know that he's half troll?"

Cho turned redder, if that was even possible. "U-um, Justin. Truth or dare?"

"Truth." He answered promptly.

"Have you ever fancied a boy?" Cho turned to Hermione. "Can you lie in this game?"

"Yes. But well know due to the consequences. The lie will be detected." Hermione couldn't help grinning at Justin's predicament.

Justin was quivering slightly. He took a deep breath. "Er…Harry…in second year. For like a _day_. It was after he saved me from that snake. I'm not gay though!" He insisted earnestly. He turned slightly green.

Hermione had to bite her bottom lip to stop from laughing out loud. The rest of them were in various states of amusement but the look on Harry's face was what finally got her laughing. He looked terrified, grossed out and sick all at the same time. He didn't know whether to stay put or run for the hills.

It was quite obvious that Justin would never go anywhere near Harry again unless it was completely and absolutely necessary.

"Um…Ginny. Truth or dare?" He asked Harry's girlfriend awkwardly.

"Truth." She said happily.

"Have you ever two-timed anyone?" He clearly didn't know what to ask her.

"No." Ginny answered honestly. "I've only ever dated Harry and I would never cheat on him. She kissed him. Ron cringed and seeing his sister and best friend's blatant display and Pansy cried "Get a room!"

"Right." Ginny said once she'd torn herself away. "Crabbe…truth or dare?"

"Dare?" He questioned, turning to Malfoy for conformation. Malfoy smirked.

"Dare it is!" Ginny said giddily. "Vincent Crabbe, I dare you to kiss Gregory Goyle with tongues!"

"Eurgh!!" Ron gasped. Hermione looked at the youngest Weasley. "Ginevra Molly Weasley, that is repulsive."

Ginny grinned cheekily. "And yet the dare is set so he has to do it."

"How do you even know if he knows how!?" Malfoy asked, equally as disgusted.

"Well then you're just going to have to show them…right Draco?"

"Hey!" Hermione intervened. Everyone turned to her Susan looking the most interested of the lot. "I mean th-that this is horrid enough as it is, we don't need another male thrown into the mix." She stuttered out. It seemed to satisfy everyone with the exception of Susan who looked a bit put-out.

"Well hurry up." Ginny said exasperatedly. "We don't have all millennia."

Crabbe caught Goyle unawares. Attacking him with his lips and shoving his tongue down his throat. Everyone backed off with varying sounds of disgust and retching. It was like watching apes kissing.

"Enough!!" Malfoy bellowed. "I can't take much more before last weeks food puts in another appearance."

Quite a few people agreed but when Crabbe and Goyle seemed completely lost in each other, it was up to Blaise and Malfoy to grab one of the two and forcefully pull them apart while keeping their gazes averted.

"Right. Next time don't invite Ginny!" Ron said, shooting a nasty side-eye at his sister. Ginny just smiled sweetly.

"For Merlin's sake Crabbe!" Blaise thundered. "Could you please ask someone truth or dare?"

"Oh." He said distractedly. "Potter. Truth or dare?"

"Truth." Harry didn't want to be forced to kiss Justin or anything.

"Every fancied Granger?" Hermione didn't know where to look. Did she look at Harry, or Ginny (his girlfriend) or Malfoy – the guy she loved or Susan who was sure to be wearing a priceless look. She settled for Harry. By far the safest bet.

Harry shook his head. "No. It's like fancying my sister."

Hermione was relieved. She didn't want to endure the wrath of Ginny.

"Susan." Harry turned to her. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to." Harry paused when he saw Ron glaring at him. "Don't worry Ron!" He turned back to Susan. "I dare you to wear Pansy's clothes."

Susan looked at Harry betrayed. "And what am I supposed to do with mine?"

Harry smiled as if he hadn't just asked a Hufflepuff to wear a Slytherin's clothes. "Keep them on."

Susan grumbled and put Pansy's clothes on over her own. Thankfully, they were one size bigger. She finished, her nose wrinkled and turned to Hermione with a manic glint in her eye. Hermione wondered if she still remembered that she promised to behave. With everything that had gone on, she doubted it.

"Hermione Jane Granger." Now there was no need for the use of her middle name that's for sure. "Who are you in love with?"

* * *

**Ok, that was unnecessarily cruel of me, I know. I am so sorry people but I am the laziest thing to grace this planet since slugs. I also know that Crabbe's dare was gross. I sickened me to write the damn thing too but it was so hilarious (to me neway). Hope you enjoyed it.**

**Dina**


	5. Truth or Dare pt 2 and Boys!

Disclaimer: God I hate writing this thing. I think it's pretty obvious by now that I don't own any of the things you recognise.

Chapter 5; Truth or Dare pt 2 and Boys!

Hermione cursed Susan to hell a zillion times over in her mind as she focused on the people in the room. Gryffindor's, Ravenclaw's and Hufflepuff's were looking at her curiously. Some of the Slytherin's were looking at her while others were discussing the sickening things that they had had to bare witness to. She skimmed past Draco Malfoy and saw that he, like Pansy Parkinson, was listening.

Harry and Ron didn't seem too bothered by the question. She assumed that they figured that if she did love someone, naturally, she would have told them. At that moment, something struck her. Her truth or dare had left out something. "Sorry Susan but I'm no answering that." Hermione grinned cheekily.

"But you have to." Susan persevered.

Hermione shook her head. "No I don't. You didn't ask me truth or dare."

It now became apparent to everyone that Hermione was evading the question. If she didn't love anyone, she would have just said no one and the game would have carried on.

"True." Susan admitted. "but it's also true that it is still my turn to ask and I have chosen you. Truth or dare Hermione?"

Hermione triumph quickly fled. If she said truth she would get the same question but she also knew that dare would result in her having to kiss Draco and it didn't matter if she loved him, she just didn't think that she was ready for that yet. Definitely not in front of Harry and Ron at least. Sighing, she resignedly answered. "Truth."

The manic glint had returned to Susan's eyes as she re-asked the question. "Who are you in love with?"

Hermione looked around her again, panicked. She tried to cover it but it didn't work, everyone had seen it. Groaning inwardly at the look of dawning comprehension on Harry's face, Hermione answered. "Pass."

Now everyone knew that Hermione Granger was in love with someone but they didn't know who. Ron looked at her shocked but Hermione's gaze was locked on Harry's who was looking at a thoroughly put-out Susan. Harry had realised that Susan knew who she loved, the evil look on the Hufflepuff's face as she had asked the question was just too telling. Hermione also knew that the next time Harry caught her alone, he would ask her about it.

"What do you mean you pass?!" Ron exploded. Now everyone turned to him shocked, he was shouting at his best friend, something they had never seen him do before. "You can't bleeding pass."

"Yes I can." Hermione said defiantly. "It's in the rules and don't even think about asking me that question again because it's not allowed."

The Slytherin's had remained quiet through the exchange and for that, Hermione was grateful. She hoped to god that he never found out. She could love him until the end of the world but he would never accept it or her. Hermione shot Susan a dirty, telling, look before she set about picking someone. "Um…Zacharias Smith. Truth or Dare?"

Hermione smiled as she saw everyone but the Hufflepuff's throw Zacharias nasty looks. His big mouth and annoying disposition made everyone hate him almost immediately on sight. "Truth."

"Why are you such a bastard to Harry?" She asked calmly.

Harry looked at Zacharias defiantly, Ron looked questioningly at Hermione and everybody else looked at her dumbfounded at hearing the potty mouth she had come out with, including the Slytherin's. Harry and Ron had heard her swear before but nobody else had. "Oh come on," She rolled her eyes. "I'm not _that_ much of a goody-two-shoes."

Zacharias reddened as he answered. "I'm jealous of all the attention he gets from everyone. How they treat him like he's god. I want to be treated like that."

"Jealousy is an ugly emotion you know." Hermione retorted. "It's also kind of childish."

As Zacharias picked his victim, Harry hissed into Hermione's ear. "You and I are going to have words."

"I figured as much." Hermione shrugged.

"Draco Malfoy." Zacharias finally settled on.

Draco shot him such a filthy look that Zacharias flinched but continued. "Truth or Dare?"

"Dare." He said intrepidly.

Hermione was fine as long as the dare didn't involve him kissing her, or anyone for that matter. If that was what Zacharias gave him, Hermione swore that she would hunt him down, shoot him, stuff him and mount him. In pride of place next to the severed elf heads at 12 Grimmauld Place.

"I dare you to…declare your love for McGonagall tomorrow, in the Great Hall when everyone is in there." He smirked at Draco.

"Fine." He shrugged. Then, to Hermione's immense surprise, he turned to her and said. "Feel free to shoot him, stuff and mount him."

Hermione gaped at him. Either that was a really freaky coincidence or Draco could read her mind…that was not a good thing at all. She put it down to coincidence and turned away from his unreadable eyes. "Weasley." Draco said. Hermione figured that it was safe to look back now but found that even though Draco was addressing Ron, he was still looking at Hermione. It was obvious that he was talking to Ron as the only other Weasley in the room had already done her truth or dare. "Truth or dare?"

Ron groaned at having to be on the receiving end of Draco's malevolence. "Dare."

Draco smirked and finally broke eyes contact with Hermione. "I dare you to do a striptease right now."

"Freaking hell Malfoy!!" Ginny shrieked "That's my brother you're ordering to striptease _in front of me!_ I don't need to see that. Wasn't Pansy enough?!"

"Hey!" Pansy intervened, correctly interpreting that as a dig.

Draco shook his head. "That was just stripping. This is a striptease. See what he has in him."

Hermione looked at the carpet, shaking her head. She could not watch her best friend strip to music. It was just too disturbing. She stole a quick glance at Susan. Susan was tied between interest and embarrassment and Hermione silently cheered. Harry was going to grill her because of her truth or dare so Susan deserved everything she got.

Draco waved his wand and the music started up. As Ron began to unbutton his robe, Hermione looked back at the carpet and saw Ginny do the same thing although she covered her ears too. Harry was too surprised to do anything other than keep staring.

It was as some girls cheered that Hermione heard Harry mumble "Oh my god!" She glanced at him grinning and saw that he also had his eyes on the carpet. Hermione heard Susan wolf whistle and decided that the only way she could live through this without being scarred for life was to also cover her ears. She bellowed. "If he removes his underwear, someone here is losing an eyes…or other parts. Preferably you Malfoy!"

She heard his muffled laugh; so he was also not looking. She figured that the boys wouldn't anyway.

The cheering and clapping got so loud that Hermione was sure the whole castle could hear. "Are we done?"

"Yes!" Shouted Ron.

The music died away but Hermione still refused to look up. "You put your clothes back on Ronald Bilius Weasley!" Ginny said in a tortured voice.

It took two minutes for Ron to put his clothes back on and only after Ginny was completely sure that her brother had all of his clothes back on, did she dare to look at him. "That's it!" Ginny conceded. "I'm done. Can we go now?"

Hermione looked at the three other prefects; all of whom were showing various degrees of affirmation and she nodded herself.

"Thank god!" Both redheads shouted as they jumped to their feet and headed for their portrait hole. That was the cue for everybody else – who didn't live in that room – to get up and do the same, of course, that was after Susan had returned Pansy's clothes back to her.

Harry shot her a look that clearly said 'we'll talk'. Hermione rolled her eyes and shooed him off.

OXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

The couches had been levitated back and all four prefects had collapsed onto them. "Oh god that was tormenting." Hermione groaned, head resting on the back of the couch.

"How the hell was yours tormenting?" Susan demanded.

"Yeah." Draco intoned. "All you did was 'pass'. You don't have to declare your love to a grouchy old head of house."

"Or have to wear a slutty Slytherin's clothes, or have your boyfriend strip to music in front of other girls _and boys!_" Susan smirked. "Although I guess you do have to see…"

Hermione knew what she was going to say and smacked her on the arm hard, party to shut her up and partly to get a tiny bit of retribution after what the other girl had done to her, even after she had promised that she would say nothing.

"Ow!" Susan mumbled.

"Don't you need a shower to get into?" Hermione hissed. "Besides, Terry didn't have to do anything either did he? Can't you pick on him?"

"Ah yeas, you're right. I do need to get in a shower and scrub for the next week…maybe more. You pick on Terry and later tonight…we're going to have words." Susan left for her bedroom to get clothes.

"God, everyone wants to have words with me." She mumbled as she glanced at the two remaining prefects.

"Can't think why." Draco shot her a look.

"And what would you know about it?" Hermione demanded.

He didn't answer so she turned to Terry. "You got off lucky."

Terry smiled at her. Hermione liked Terry; he was ok and he had never done anything to bother her before. "I know. So tell me…who do you love?" Or maybe not.

Hermione scowled. "Who says I do? You all assume that just because passed, I love someone. Maybe there's another reason."

"Like what?" Terry asked. He obviously saw no reason for someone to pass a question like that if the answer was a simple no.

"Like she wants people to assume that she loves someone because she wants to feel needed. Or…it could just be that the person she loves would never love her back and she's embarrassed because of it." Draco raised an eyebrow at her.

Hermione didn't say anything. She surveyed him for a moment before she stood up and left them there, going straight to her bedroom. If he was behaving like this right now, god knew what he would do if he actually found out the truth.

She waited in there for Susan who didn't disappoint, bouncing in ten minutes later with a huge grin on her face.

"I don't know what the hell you're so happy about because I'm about to slaughter you Bones." Hermione growled.

"What'd I do?" Susan asked all too innocently.

"You promised me that you wouldn't say anything at all yet you go and blurt it out on the first chance you get. What kind of a friend do you call yourself? Now I have Malfoy on my back about it and not in a good way. He's taunting me Suze!" Hermione said in a rush.

Susan pulled up some bed covers and sat down, without being invited. "Look, I don't get why you like him when he is such a prick. What can someone like you see in that guy?"

"You don't chose who you like." Hermione replied resignedly. "It just…happens."

"And when did it just happen?" Susan enquired. "I know that you like him but you never told me when it started and how it progressed."

"Of course I'm going to tell you." Hermione said sarcastically. "Because you have shown just how trustworthy you are today right?"

"Well Hermione, do you know that you're behaving like a schoolgirl with a crush?" Susan asked. "You should tell him."

Hermione shook her head. "First I have to deal with Harry. I think I'll go and talk to him now. Oh, and I am a schoolgirl."

OXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Hermione stepped into the Gryffindor common room, having successfully ignored Draco in their common room when she had walked past to leave. He hadn't said anything but she could feel his eyes on her. It bought goosebumps up all over her.

Harry was sitting near the fire, pouring over one of his neglected pieces of homework.

"Where's Ron?" She asked, looking around for said redhead.

Harry looked up, acknowledged her with a nod of his head and answered. "Around. Haven't really seen him that much today actually. I think he's still embarrassed after that dare he had to perform. I didn't think that it was possible for Ron to hate Malfoy any more than he already did but I was wrong." Harry grinned. "He'll have fun at Malfoy's public embarrassment tomorrow."

Hermione threw herself onto a couch and looked around at the house that she missed dearly. "So do you want to talk now or continue skirting around the subject?"

Harry threw his quill on top of his parchment and gave Hermione his undivided attention. "Who is he, why didn't you tell your best friends and how does Susan know?"

"You are too perceptive for a boy!" Hermione mumbled.

Harry continued to look at her expectantly.

"Well I would tell you…but I can't." Hermione frowned. If there was one thing she hated, it was lying to her best friends and parents but there was nothing that she could do about it, they wouldn't understand. She wasn't even sure that she did.

"But you told Susan." He all but whined.

"No I didn't. Susan found out all by herself. Can't you respect me enough to leave it at that?"

Harry frowned. "I would but I can't help thinking that the only reason you would keep it from me and Ron is because you know that we would not approve."

Hermione couldn't wipe the guilty look off of her face quick enough.

Harry groaned, shaking his head slowly. "Oh god Hermione, tell me it isn't a Slytherin."

"What?" Hermione gasped, head snapping towards him.

He didn't look happy. "You heard me." He looked at her desperately. "Tell me it's not true."

Hermione sighed. "It could be a female you know, you don't always have to jump to the worst conclusion." It didn't work; Harry stuck to the subject like super glue. "Is it a female?"

"…no!" Hermione huffed. Look Harry, there's not point in dwelling on it because I really don't think that anything is going to happen."

"You didn't answer my question!" Harry was obviously starting to get annoyed.

"That's because I am being deliberately evasive." She looked at him sadly. "I won't lie to you Harry but am also not going to tell you." She stood up. They had had their words and she figured that it would be best if she returned to her bedroom.

She was almost safely there when her luck changed and Harry spoke up. "How could you Hermione." His voice was quiet but distinctly disappointed. She stopped, keeping her back to him because she couldn't bear to look into his eyes at that moment. She knew what she would see. "Of all the people in the world…why did it have to be him?"

He didn't sound angry, just enormously sad and frustrated. Her tears fell as she opened the portrait and walked through it, still not looking at him. How could she ever face him again.

OXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Oh thank god, another chapter over and we really have to wonder about Harry. Does he or doesn't he know? And MY GOD isn't Draco a jerk! When I write him cruel, I begin to hate him too.**

**Thanx for reading.**** Please review and no flames thank you.**

**Dina**


	6. Losing

Disclaimer: I am not going to keep putting this thing up. I already admitted that the characters aren't mine and they haven't suddenly become mine either. J

A/N: I know that I haven't updated in forever but (and here come the excuses) I have only just started college again and I have been transcribing 'One Tree Hill' episodes for twiztv; that takes up a lot of time. So anyway, here goes.

**Chapter 6**: **Losing**

"Hermione Jane Granger, get out of that bed this instant!" Susan yelled loud enough for the whole house to hear.

Hermione had her head buried under a mountain of pillows, under her covers. It was nine in the morning on a Saturday and she was feeing lousy. "No." she protested. "Go without me. You don't need company when eating."

"Hermione, stop being a child. What happened yesterday anyway?" Susan persisted, walking into the bedroom and sitting on Hermione's legs.

Hermione moaned and tried to shove Susan off but it was no good "How much do you weigh?" groaning, she wiggled some more. "Fine, at least let me sit up." Susan shifted slightly, Hermione pulled herself up and sat on her pillows. "Harry knows." Hermione sighed miserably. There was no need to elaborate further than that.

Susan frowned, taking a sip from Hermione's glass of water. "How?"

Hermione snatched her glass back and slammed it unceremoniously onto the table, venting some of her frustration. "He's cleverer than I gave him credit for and your question fuelled his imagination. He's right to be disappointed in me and I'm not sure if I still have him as a best friend anymore. When he tells Ron, I'll lose him too."

"I'm sure you won't." Susan insisted as she mopped up Hermione's mess with Hermione's t-shirt.

"Hey!" She took her t-shirt back and dumped it into the laundry basket. "If I _do_ lose my best friends over this trivial matter, you're going down with me."

Susan crossed her arms and pouted. "Why me? I'm supposed to be your friend."

"And what a friend you were. Yesterday was supposed to be fun yet it was turned into my worst nightmare(!) I am scarred for life, I may lose my best friends and what do you think Ron's going to say when he finds out that you knew but didn't tell him?" Hermione smirked evilly.

Susan shook her head. "How about we come to a compromise?" Hermione inclined her head slightly, waiting. "If you lose your best friends, then you can tell them my part in it but if you don't, Ron never needs to find out."

Hermione thought about it for a second before nodding her head. "OK. And you're OK with lying to Ron about this?"

"I'm perfectly fine with lying to him. I was keeping a secret for my friend and as far as I'm concerned, that's not a crime."

"Try convincing Ron of that. In his opinion, anything to do with Malfoy is a crime." Hermione got out of the bed and walked into the large bathroom. "It's a pity that the heart wants what it wants."

Susan followed Hermione to the doorway. "You know, if you'd told them about this…thing…they might have accepted it."

Hermione rolled her eyes as she brushed her teeth. She rinsed her mouth out before she graced Susan with an answer. "Yeah right. They are evil to each other. Besides, like I said yesterday, nothing is going to happen. I don't know why everyone is making such a big deal out of this."

"Because you're letting them." Susan huffed. "Will you hurry up and finish? I'm hungry."

Hermione wiped her face and glared at her fellow prefect. She walked out of the bathroom, Susan following behind.

The Great Hall was anything but empty when they finally made it there. She hoped that Harry respected her enough to keep the news to himself. Her life was too complicated and she needed Harry in it. Before this, they had never fallen out before. She wasn't counting third year when she thought this because in her opinion, that was for his own good.

Harry and Ron were sitting next to each other, whispering. Hermione stopped when she saw them. "Come on Hermione." Susan nudged slightly. "You got this far. Don't let your courage fade now."

"I can't."

"Yes you can." She looked at the Gryffindor table. "Oh look, Ron's calling you."

Hermione looked up and sure enough, Ron was waving at the pair. She gave a quick look to Harry who looked away evasively. Smiling at Ron, she shook her head and then turned to leave the Great Hall. Susan couldn't sit at the Gryffindor table anyway so Hermione's presence wasn't exactly vital.

OXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Hermione sat in the library with 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'. She would have had something to eat last night if she had known that she would be going on a hunger strike just to avoid her best friends. It would have been easy to sneak into the kitchens but the house elves weren't exactly on good terms with her anymore; not since she had tried to stage a mass house elf walkout followed by a strike in respect to the tiring job that they were subjected to performing on a daily basis… and Dobby would just ask questions.

A muffin was slammed down onto her desktop. Hermione looked up into the smiling face of Ginny Weasley. "Be discrete. I've gotten into trouble for eating in this library."

Hermione smiled thankfully as her stomach gave a particularly loud rumble. She took the muffin and slipped it into her bag while signalling for Ginny to sit.

"So, Draco Malfoy huh?" Ginny asked as she lowered herself into a chair.

Hermione's heart began to thump wildly. "Does Harry hate me?

Ginny sighed and put her bag on the floor. "Hermione, Harry could never hate you. I was hoping that it wasn't true."

Hermione looked around, making sure that there was no one present to overhear. When she was satisfied, she returned her attention to Ginny. "I don't see why it's such a problem. It's not like he's evil. He helped defeat Voldemort and he doesn't call me a Mudblood anymore.

"Yes," Ginny hissed. "But that doesn't make him good either; you can't expect every bad person to be a murderer or every good person to be a saint. There are big grey bits and they are just as important as the black and white." She shook her head. "Harry is only looking out for you. People get hurt all the time and its people like Malfoy that are more prone to doing it. He's good looking and could get any girl that he wants so he'll work it to his advantage even if it means killing people's self-esteem in the process."

"I understand Ginny, honestly, I do but you're all worrying about nothing. I'm never going to tell him. I will leave Hogwarts at the end of next year and no one will be any the wiser." Hermione insisted, picking off a bit of the muffin and quickly putting it into her mouth.

Ginny grinned and shrugged. "Tell him. He deserves to know. Besides, Harry found out when I liked him and it wasn't that bad."

Hermione settled for giving the younger girl a look. It _had_ been bad. Ginny had been mad for Harry and he had been oblivious for the better part of five years. It was only when she had finally given up on him that he had come around – roughly the same moment that Dean Thomas had been asking her out. Dean had never found out if she would have said yes or no.

"Oh, Harry was hopeless. " Ginny relented, giggling at the memory.

"He was embarrassed by you!" Hermione said. "And he's a Gryffindor. I would mortify Malfoy and I don't think that he'd let me live it down."

"Well it's your call." Ginny stood. "Now come on. We have to watch McGonagall's embarrassment."

Hermione nodded and zipped up her schoolbag; swinging it over her shoulder. It _would_ be fun to watch Malfoy humiliate himself. She wasn't above all that and rather enjoyed a Slytherins public down beating. Ginny was still smiling to herself as they turned to leave the library. It slipped when they focussed and came face to face with Draco Malfoy, leaning against one of the shelves and watching the pair interestedly.

Draco shifted slightly and Hermione stopped breathing. "Don't stop on account of me." He looked a cross between amused and restrained. "I never thought a conversation between two Gryffindors could be so interesting."

"Uh-oh(!)" Ginny hissed from behind her.

"No wonder you didn't say anything yesterday. What guy would ever want anybody to know that a Mudblood fancied him?" The maliciousness in his eyes tore through Hermione.

Hermione's heart thumped wildly and she did the only thing she _could_ do. She held her head high and with more dignity than she felt, said. "I was talking about your father." She strode proudly out of the library, Ginny following quickly behind. She hoped that Ginny's expression didn't betray the lie or act as if the information was news to her. Granted, it was gross but it was also a way to escape while Draco absorbed the information with unease.

OXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Ginny and Hermione were sitting at a table in the Great Hall before Ginny let go of the act and collapsed onto the table, laughing.

"What's so funny?" Hermione asked offended.

"Did you see his face? I think he's had enough emotional scarring these past few hours to last him a lifetime and now you've just told him that you either love or fancy his _father_!" Ginny couldn't stop the laughing.

"But you said his name when you first came into the library. What's to say he'll believe me?" Hermione asked distractedly. She was busy watching McGonagall and the door. Draco should be there any minute to carry out his dare and she was looking forward to it.

"He wasn't there when I entered. He must have walked in some time later and I had been so absorbed in our conversation that I didn't notice." Ginny said. She was also watching the door in anticipation. Draco was no coward; he would come, do the dare, and then suffer the consequences for humiliating the deputy headmistress.

"Go and talk to Harry before Malfoy arrives." Ginny nudged Hermione and then pointed down the table to where Harry was still seated. Ron was nowhere to be seen.

Hermione sighed. She didn't want to confront Harry right now. There was no telling what kind of mood he was in and she didn't want to add fuel to his already burning rage, but Ginny was right. She had to make things OK between herself and her friends again before she did anything else. She stood and walked to Harry, sitting opposite him and waiting for him to acknowledge her presence.

"What do you want?" Harry asked the table.

"I want to apologise… and to ask you to have a little faith in me,"

"Faith in you?" Harry's head jerked up and he glared at her. The last time he had done that was in fifth year when she had said that Sirius probably did get confused between Harry and his father at times. "I _had_ faith in you, Hermione. I had faith and then you went and blew it by falling in love with a Slytherin. Not just _any_ Slytherin mind you; one whose father was the reason you were almost killed when you were fifteen."

While Harry had been disappointed last night, today he was furious. She understood why; it wasn't an easy thing to understand or accept.

Hermione nodded. "I was sixteen." When she realised that this wasn't helping to lighten the mood, she rushed on. "OK. But I got mine. He knows now and even if he believed my cover, he's still going to find out the truth sooner or later. I just wanted a friend to talk to. I hoped that my best friend, at least, would understand that I couldn't _help_ it. Do you honestly think that I would have _let_ it happen if I could?" she fought back the tears. She didn't want to lose Harry but if that was the price, then she would pay it. "I _am_ sorry; for what it's worth. I'll tell Ron and then you can both hate me together."

She didn't wait for Harry's response. It was useless, trying to talk to him when he was like this. She stood and went to sit on her own at the end of Gryffindor table. Ron would be by shortly, Hermione prepared herself to lose another friend before the end of dinner.

"Susan wants to know what the problem is." Ginny took her place beside Hermione again.

Hermione quickly looked to the Hufflepuff table and sure enough Susan was watching her curiously. Shaking her head slightly, Hermione looked back at the entrance just in time to see her redheaded best friend enter. Ginny raised an eyebrow as Hermione's breathing accelerated.

"Hermione, what is it?"

Hermione didn't utter a word. Ron walked to Harry; they exchanged a few words before he changed direction and headed for herself and Ginny.

"Harry said that you wanted a word." Ron's face was puzzled as Ginny looked at her, alarmed.

Hermione breathed deeply and nodded. Her heart felt ready to give out but she needed to tell him anyway. She had kept it a secret long enough. It was probably a good thing that he was standing; it gave him a better opportunity to escape after she finished what she was going to tell him.

"Do you remember what my dare was last night?" She barely noticed as Ginny excused herself and moved a tiny but down the table; still within earshot.

Ron nodded slowly. "Suze asked you who you were in love with and you passed…" Ron's mouth fell open. "Who is it?"

Hermione sighed and raked a head through her hair. "I passed because he was in the room and I didn't want him to know."

Ron pulled his slack face into a knowing smile. "I'm sorry, Hermione, but I'm already taken."

If this hadn't been causing Hermione so much pain, she would have thumped the insufferable git. "It's. Not. You." Hermione exercised her patience to its fullest extent.

"Neville?" Ron asked cautiously.

Hermione glared daggers at him. "No."

Ron turned slightly red. "Smith?"

"Ron!" Hermione hissed. "I am _not_ playing the guessing game with you." She sighed before relenting. "It's the reason Harry's not talking to me."

"But the only reason Harry wouldn't talk to you-" Ron stopped mid flow as Hermione's attention was claimed by the arrival of a certain blond haired Slytherin. He spotted him and Hermione's red face and caught on. "Malfoy…"

Hermione opened her mouth to explain herself but Ron held up his hand, stopping any words in her throat. "You're in love with Malfoy?"

"Ron-" Hermione tried again, but he didn't stay put. Ron's ears began to glow red as he turned his back and walked to Harry again, not looking once at her.

Ginny shuffled back and put her arm around Hermione's shaking shoulders. Her eyes burned and she felt the first signs of tears making themselves known.

"He'll clam down." Ginny whispered to her. "Don't worry."

"No, he won't." Hermione's voice was choked up. "And honestly, if I was in his position, I wouldn't forgive me either. After _all_ the bad things Malfoy's done to us, Ron's striptease included, there's nothing that I can say or do that's going to make your brother OK with this."

"Well he can't hate you for your feelings. It's not like you've _done_ anything yet." Ginny smiled comfortingly. "You'll always have me as a friend. Now let's watch Malfoy make a fool of himself."

Hermione wasn't sure that she would fine this divine humiliation as much fun anymore. It felt like she had just gone three rounds with a dozen Dememtors and this tiny but of amusement wasn't much by way of forgetting. Nevertheless, Hermione watched Draco's, somewhat stiff, trek to his house table. Instead of sitting at the table like most people expected of him, Draco got onto the table, gracefully.

Hermione watched Snape; his eyes narrowed as he saw his favourite student climb the aged length of wood. Everyone in Slytherin, who hadn't been privy to the dare, was staring at him with a mixture of shock, amusement and puzzlement. Everyone who _had_ been present were grinning cheekily at each other, exchanging knowing looks.

Most of the student body hadn't noticed that Draco had basically made himself a human target by standing on the Slytherin table. The other houses barely ever spared a glace at Slytherins table as they were cruel, bullies and pretty much antisocial at the best of times. This meant that the Prefect had to resort to desperate measures to get everybody present's attention. Hermione knew what charm Draco used on his throat even if he had only muttered it. During a highly unusual lull in the Great Hall, Draco took advantage and proved Hermione's theory correct.

Draco's cough boomed in the Great Hall by his magically enhanced voice. Every pair of eyes snapped on him and they took in the leader of the Slytherins. Draco loved attention, it was obvious, but he had never gone all out and literally demanded it. This caused a murmuring to fill the Hall like a mass of curious bees.

Hermione had to hand it to him, he didn't blush or act as if what he was about to do was out of the norm of everyday activity. She couldn't help but smile slightly.

Draco coughed again before standing up straight and addressing the students at large. "I just have one thing to get off my chest." His voice rang out, clear and distinct. "You see, I've been keeping this to myself for some time now and I just needed to voice it."

Every professor at the Head table was looking for a way to get the Prefect off the table without making too much of a fuss; every professor with the exception of Dumbledore who seemed to be quite enjoying the scene as it unfolded; his eyes twinkled. It seemed that if he wasn't about to stop it, the professors didn't have any choice but to let it happen and then punish Draco later if this occasion called for it. Snape's lips were as thin as McGonagall's when she was angry at a member of her house.

Hermione was quite interested in the reactions of the Slytherins – with the exception of Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy – when they heard that the person they most looked up to was in love with a Gryffindor, not just any Gryffindor but the Head of said house.

Draco beamed like a true celebrity at his house before continuing. "I felt that it was only appropriate for everybody to know that I am in fact in love with the head of Gryffindor, Professor Minerva McGonagall." He glanced coldly at Hermione before smiling warmly at the mortified, beet red, Transfiguration teacher and the disapproving glare from his own head of house before nodding once, saying, "Thank you." and proceeding to get off the table and back into his own seat. Hermione didn't miss the pointed look he shot at her. He took the charm off his voice and began to pull food towards him as if this happened all the time.

Professor Minerva McGonagall had begun to sputter and Dumbledore was beaming wider than ever while Professor Sprout tried to console the Head of Gryffindor who looked likely to fly at Draco or pass out. The former looked most likely at this point.

Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors were giggling behind their hands and the Slytherins were completely disgusted. Some of them were shooting Draco dirty looks while others whispered amongst their friends. Nobody seemed to realise that he was lying, except, of course, the people who had been present yesterday. Draco shovelled food into his mouth without a care in the world.

"He seems to be taking it in his stride." Ginny hissed disappointedly. "I feel sorrier for McGonagall; I think she's going to have a heart attack."

Pity washed over Hermione. The dare had been to humiliate Draco, not McGonagall but it seemed that she had come out with the worst of it. Apparently, Draco also hadn't swallowed her lie about Lucius either.

Hermione groaned, "Life as I know it is over. I _live_ with him, Ginny."

Ginny rubbed her back consolingly. "If McGonagall can live through that – though I'm seriously worrying about her right now – so can you. You'll be fine. He knows you love him but it won't be that bad."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at the redhead.

Ginny shrugged. "Oh come on, you think I missed that look he gave you?" She looked at her brother and boyfriend. "Harry and Ron will forgive you in time too. I'll work on them and until then, you have me and Susan to keep you company."

"And to beat of Draco if he gets _too_ insufferable?" Hermione implored.

"Of course." Ginny mock pondered. "I'm pretty surprised that he didn't have a derogatory remark when he found out that you loved him… or at least hexed you."

Hermione punched her on the arm. "I'm distraught here! I've lost both of my best friends and the guy that I _love_ has found out about it, all in the same day, and its all Susan Bones' fault!"

Ginny raised her eyebrows and put on her best Molly Weasley tone. "Keep your voice down dear or they'll all find out and you'll be segregated from the rest of the school with no Draco to back you up. Besides, it's not all Susan's fault; she didn't force you to feel the way you do, she's just not good at keeping secrets."

Hermione sighed and put her head in her hands. "I suppose. It's just easier to blame her as she was at the root of it."

"Look," Ginny consoled. "Draco just went through a… difficult… experience," She looked questioningly at the Prefects back. "But he let it roll off him like water. Why can't _you_ do that same?"

Hermione put her bag on and pushed her plate of food away. "Because what he said was a lie, what he heard me say wasn't and he knows it. Are you coming to Gryffindor with me?"

Ginny pushed her untouched food away and nodded. They stood together and walked out of the Hall. Hermione could feel a pair of cold, hardened, silver eyes on her back.

OXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**A/N: I have no excuses guys. I know that I'm an awful person and that I should have updated but 'One Tree Hill' does take up a majority of the time, studies take up the rest and now, with the impending job interview, I'm a mess. I'll try and update as soon as possible. I do have commitments to one other story on here though so I'll update that one before I do this one again. On a lighter note, I finished my 'Buffy' fiction so that's one less story to worry about.**

**If you have any questions, feel free to ask them.**

**Please don't flame (Unless it's to shout about my lack of updates because I _do_ deserve that.)**

**Thank you for reading.**

**X Dina**

**P.S. I made some mistakes so I had to re-upload.**


	7. The Disturbance

A/N: Hi, me again. I'll have to start putting AU now as I couldn't get this done before the 16th of July. Well, here goes nothing. I hope I don't disappoint my muse.

**Chapter 7: The Disturbance**

The glare than was fixed on Hermione's face had taken up permanent residence there for the last three days. True to form, Harry and Ron weren't talking to her; in fact, they avoided her on most occasions, going the other way when she entered a corridor and turning their backs when she entered a classroom. For this reason, she had ended up partnering Neville in every class. It wasn't too difficult as most people still felt the need to steer clear when he came into too close contact with anything magical.

Hermione couldn't seem to shake the glare because when her friends weren't around to avoid her, she was doing the best that she could to avoid Draco Malfoy; the bane of her existence. Hermione found that this new-found ability to look at anybody hatefully stopped the younger and older people from walking all over her when she patrolled the corridors. It made her life a lot easier in one aspect at least.

She had yet to properly come across the Slytherin Prefect and in her opinion, that was a very impressive feat; mostly because it should be a lot harder to avoid somebody if you actually lived in the same quarters as them.

"You know," Susan appeared out of nowhere. "running from your problems is not something I would have expected of a Gryffindor, especially not _this_ Gryffindor. You've faced death quite a few times, been hurt pretty badly – physically, defied the Ministry, yet you can't face a Slytherin, a Slytherin who – I might add – is younger than you."

Hermione could have beaten that pompous look off the Hufflepuff's face but she was too much of a lady to do so. "He's _taller_ than me(!)" She growled before increasing her pace.

Susan caught up with her quite easily. "He'll find you soon, you know?"

Hermione looked around the empty corridor as her scowl deepened. Any child misbehaving had better hope that they did not cross Hermione Jane Granger tonight. "Well then let him find me. Until then, I'm working so go and do your own job." She had every intention of checking the library next; it was her last job before turning in for the night.

Susan mock bowed. "I'll see you back at the common room. Don't kill the children, alright?"

Hermione could still hear Susan's laugh in her ears ten minutes later, when she pushed the doors to the library open. This place was like a haven and like most places that people loved, they liked to make a good entrance. This was why whenever she entered the library, Hermione always opened both doors. It was second nature to her now, she barely thought about it when she did it.

It was instantly obvious, as soon as she entered the room, that the place was deserted. That alone should have been enough to make her turn around and go back. With it being almost one in the morning, she really needed her rest if she was to be up early tomorrow for her lessons but something pulled her inside; something that she barely registered.

The back window of the library was filled with books. Books on every shelf and they completely covered the windows so anybody walking past from outside would be able to see nothing but a lot of books in many rows, pressed up against the window. Most of the time, it felt secluded but tonight, it made Hermione feel claustrophobic. She had never realised how stale the air was down here; like the books were too far along to be remembered so they were never dusted or looked after. She touched a spine lightly and glanced at the open latch of the lock that held the doors to the restricted section of the library shut. She squinted at it, confused, before hearing a noise behind her.

It was soft; a rustling like cloth on cloth or the soft padding of footsteps by somebody trying too hard to be quiet and just falling short. She spun around but stopped when she saw nothing. There was only one problem; she was sure that she'd heard it and Hermione had never been wrong when it came to hearing things, not once in her life so she knew now that even if she couldn't see anything or anyone, it didn't necessarily mean that nobody was there; especially in the magical world where anything was possible.

"Who's there?" She called, louder and in a much stronger voice than she felt she could muster.

There was a very long pause while nothing happened and nothing was said. Hermione waited patiently for a response. Just when she thought that she would get nothing, she heard a squeak and the door to the library cracked open, remained for a while and then thudded closed.

Without thinking, she rushed to the door and yanked it open, intent on running after then thing or person even if she was blind to their whereabouts. Her entire being screamed at her to leave, to run away and forget that she had even witnessed it, but she couldn't. A minute voice in the very distant recess of her mind hoped that it was Harry, in his invisibility cloak, hoping to talk to her and help to mend the rift that was driving her to the worst depression she could ever remember feeling.

There was only one problem with that hope; she knew for a fact that Harry was asleep in Gryffindor tower right now and also, Ginny had his cloak. She being the only person allowed to take it from him as she was the only person other than Ron and – formally – herself that he trusted with something as precious as his dad's infamous cloak.

Hermione followed the direction she believed the person to have gone while a loud voice in her head continued to shout at her. She was aware that she should listen to it. After all, it was that voice that told her that the basilisk travelled through the plumbing, that Remus Lupin could only be a werewolf, that Sirius was innocent, that Voldemort and Sirius were not in the Department of Mysteries and that Harry liked Ginny long before he admitted to himself. Not once had it ever been wrong so she knew that she should be listening to it… but she couldn't. Something was in her school and she needed to find it.

Her heart raced as she chased something that gave its location away every now and again. She was gaining on it fast when she saw Draco Malfoy appear. It threw her for a loop and she stopped momentarily. In that moment, he was shoved aside slightly as the thing collided with his left side before moving on.

"What the-" He hissed as he turned to see what had walked into him. He turned back when he saw nothing.

Hermione shook her head and rushed after it, it had only just gone past the Slytherin so she may still be able to catch up with it if she hurried.

She had just passed him when he grabbed a hold of her arm. It didn't surprise her ho how tight his grip was, she expected it, but she did try to pull her arm out of his grip. He held on tighter. "Where do you think you're going?" It sounded more like a demand. This was nothing new; Draco Malfoy did not commonly ask questions and most of the ones he did ask, he already knew the answer to.

She struggled a bit more before glaring at him. "Let me go. I have to go after it." She stared on, hoping to catch a glimpse of the thing though she knew it wasn't likely to happen. "The restricted section's doors were open. It was looking for something."

He frowned at her, confusion written all over his face. "What do you mean the restricted section's doors were open?"

In all the chase and mystery, Hermione had forgotten to be embarrassed, but as she looked into his silver eyes, the feeling came rushing back and she stumbled back. She realised that she must sound extremely stupid. Only, he seemed to have forgotten about the impromptu revelation of her feelings almost half a week ago.

"The latch was unlocked and the door was open. I need to find the student that broke into the library so that I can report them." Hermione tried to keep eye contact but she lost it after a few seconds.

Malfoy scoffed at her. "Stop trying to be such a goody-two-shoes. That latch couldn't have been open, Pince would never close up the library without checking every door and visible crack."

Hermione did _not_ like being insulted. It was the ultimate degradation in her opinion, especially for her as she tried to be the best in everything that she attempted. "You don't believe me? Fine. I'll show you."

He followed her back to the library and they stood in front of the restricted section. The latch was as she'd left it. "See," She was talking to herself more than anything else. "it's unlocked."

She looked at him and saw a war of emotions pass behind his eyes. They ranged from confused to contemplative. "What?" Hermione didn't like being on the other side of knowledge.

He bent down and looked closely at the latch but she was aware that he made sure not to touch it. He straightened back up and looked at her. He still said nothing.

Hermione was getting immensely impatient with him. "_What_!"

He sighed. "Madam Pince would have checked the lock before she left. I'm sure she does it every time she leaves the library, considering how long she's worked here and how obsessive she is about any book that passes under this ceiling, even if they don't belong in the library."

Hermione didn't see the point of this. She knew that a student had done it and thanks to him, they had gotten away. "Yes, so a student-"

"The restricted section is protected by spells so that students can't gain access to it when the librarian has left and they feel the need to make a nuisance of themselves." He cut her off.

"Like you, you mean?" Hermione countered.

Malfoy spared her a veiled look before continuing. "The only way to open it is if a student is granted access by their teacher. Like you in second year; Lockhart signed the slip and Pince opened the restricted section."

Hermione's thought process froze. He knew about the Polyjuice Potion and how they had done it. She would ask him about that later but right now, this was more important. "What are you getting at?"

He paused for a long moment as he thought about and formed the words. "I mean that considering the librarian did not leave any student down in the library alone with the entire restricted section to themselves with no supervision, it was either a teacher… or somebody who doesn't study here; because this would have needed a powerful, dark form of magic."

Hermione gaped at him for a long while before a smile broke out over her face. The whole concept seemed too farfetched. "Oh, come on, Malfoy, that's ridiculous. No teacher would do that and there is no way that anybody could have gotten into the castle."

He looked at her pityingly. "After everything you've seen, you still believe that it's not possible? Quirrell, Lockhart, Moody and Umbridge would never have done it, right? Anything is possible. There's something in there that they want… or something that they already took."

Hermione was adamant not to believe it. The reality seemed too awful. There was only one kind of person who would want a book from the restricted section. "No, you're wrong. It's not like that anymore."

He glared at her. "The person bumped _me_. Trust me, Granger, when I say that that was no student. What student, apart from Potter, do you know that has the ability to become invisible?" His eyebrows drew together as he got lost in thought. "There is too strong a possibility that a teacher is involved in this in some way; whether it is directly or indirectly."

Hermione glowered impatiently, with the fading tension, her embarrassment was returning alarmingly fast in his company and she wanted to hold on to her annoyance before she found it difficult to respond to any of the following questions. "Well, I have to tell Dumbledore at least. He's Headmaster and he has a right to know."

"You can't tell him tonight." He murmured, looking around at the library, probably to see if anything else had been disturbed or broken.

Hermione narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. Dumbledore would definitely want to be informed about a possible break-in no matter what the time. It wasn't even that late. "Why? It's only eleven pm. I'm sure he wouldn't mind being bothered."

He stared straight at her. "You can't tell him because he's not in the castle. He left yesterday evening."

Hermione's mind went blank. How could that be true? As Prefect, she should have been told that he was going; all of the Prefect's should have been informed. "But… why? Are you sure?"

Malfoy's gaze hardened. If the one thing Hermione hated was not knowing answers, he definitely hated his knowledge being questioned. "I went to see him this morning and McGonagall told me he had left really late last night which is why we were not told about it and she wouldn't tell me why. If you want answers, ask her yourself."

There was one thing that she was thankful for; he was pissing her off enough for her to forget about her feelings for him. It just left her with a burning desire to kick him. "Well then who do we tell?"

His shrug was so indifferent that Hermione almost slugged him but she restrained herself. "No one. It was probably nothing and your overactive Gryffindor imagination has you cooking up all sorts of ridiculous theories but that doesn't mean that there's any basis of truth in them. Just forget about it." Without another word, he turned and strode out of the library.

She frowned at the doors as they thudded closed again, this time behind Draco Malfoy. She shook her head slowly, in confusion. He was an enigma that she could not figure out. His moods changed more often than any girls she knew. One minute he was concerned about the broken chain and the next, he had literally told her to ignore it.

She sighed and looked at the chain again. The person had already escaped so there was probably no point in alerting any teachers. It could wait until morning. Disturbing Dumbledore at eleven in the evening seemed a lot safer than disturbing McGonagall. She would definitely not be pleased.

With Malfoy's departure, Hermione's confidence has also fled. She didn't feel safe in here anymore and she quickly walked to the door and out into the corridor, making sure to take the route the invisible person hadn't. It would mean that her journey back to the prefect's room would take twice as long but if it meant a feeling of added safety, she wasn't going to complain.

She walked quickly down each corridor, forcing herself to take every step and adamant not to turn and look around to make sure that she was alone. The whole point of her role as Prefect meant that she was supposed to be able to cope with situations other students could not.

It was probably this attempt at willing herself into forced stubbornness that kept her from noticing the noise before it was too late. There was a loud noise behind her before her world went black and she crumpled to the floor.

OXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

**I know, I changed the mood, but I had to. I flat-out refuse to make Malfoy fall for Hermione or suddenly realise he loves her just because he finally knows her feelings for him. It's not right and more importantly, it would not happen. I will however, strive to keep it as different from 'An Unlikely Outcome' as possible. After all, Voldemort's dead in this one, isn't he? This chapter only had one scene but I needed to get it over with and show how totally unaffected but Hermione's secret he really is (as it should be).**

**Please review and please don't flame. Thank you :)**

**X Dina**


	8. Lost

Disclaimer: I own nothing, and hi.

**Chapter 8: Lost**

Susan was roused from a particularly interesting dream by an incessant, and increasingly annoying banging that was coming from outside. From what she could gauge, it was coming from her right. Grumbling, she threw off her quilt, grabbed her dressing gown, and donned it whilst opening the door.

She soon located the source of the noise. Outside Hermione's bedroom door stood a long, red haired, fifth year, and at this precise moment, she was yelling and attempting to break down Hermione's door. "Open up, Hermione! I know you're in there!"

Susan squinted at Ginny and pulled her dressing gown tight around her as she walked to Ginny. "Ginevra Molly Weasley, what on _earth _do you think you're doing?!"

Ginny jumped a mile into the air and Susan had to suppress her giggle. Susan stood and waited patiently for a response. Ginny turned to Susan and glared at her in such a way that Susan was positive she had inherited it from her mother. Susan smiled widely and warmly, and continued to wait.

"I can't find Hermione," Ginny explained, "and there was no reason to scare the patronus out of me!"

Susan finally laughed. "I know, but it was really fun. It's not surprising you couldn't hear me, considering all of the racket you were making."

Ginny sighed, forgetting the incident. "I didn't see Hermione at all yesterday. Harry and Ron say she didn't turn up for the lessons they share with her. She hasn't been to the great hall to eat, and I haven't even seen her in the library. I thought I'd come and force her out of her room."

Susan looked at her for a few seconds too long. It stirred Ginny's suspicions. "Explain."

"I haven't seen her since we split up to patrol the corridors two nights ago."

Ginny started. "And you haven't seen her in your lessons either?"

Susan shook her head.

Ginny's frown deepened. "She's not answering her door. I'm worried that she's fallen into a depression since her secret came out and Harry and Ron stopped talking to her. Hermione doesn't miss lessons for anything," She was pacing ever so slightly.

"Did you try the door handle?" Susan looked at her pointedly and smiled. It was ever so slightly condescending, and it irritated her.

Gritting her teeth, Ginny forced out a polite, "Yes."

Susan tried it herself, just to be sure, before relenting. "Well, by process of elimination, I suspect that the last person to see her was Malfoy. Hey," Susan's condescending smile suddenly turned mischievous, "you don't think that they're off together, do you?"

Ginny sighed. "No. I swear, Susan, you cause more trouble than you solve. You're not innocent in this, you know? It was your dare that raised everyone's suspicions, and then our conversation in the library that informed him of the truth. I feel bad, and _you_ bloody-well should, too!" She started towards the stairs that led to the prefects' common room.

Susan paused as the words registered. She did feel guilty. She knew that she had a huge part in what had happened to Hermione in the last week. In fact, the majority of it was her fault. The only unfortunate thing about her character was that she loved love. She wanted people to be happy and in love. Regrettably, she had made Hermione a promise, had then promptly forgotten the promise, and tried her best to reveal the truth, without actually saying the words herself. It hadn't been done maliciously, she had just let her heart lead, without engaging her brain.

However, the knowledge that Draco Malfoy knew of Hermione's feelings was news to her. Hermione hadn't shared that piece of information with her. Whilst she could understand why, now, it still put her out a little. Susan started after the departing red-head ran after her.

Susan caught up with her quite easily. Ginny wasn't trying to escape from her. "Malfoy _knows!?_"

"Yes," Ginny replied, shortly, and looked around the room. Malfoy wasn't in here, "He was eavesdropping whilst we were talking in the library. Before his dare. I need to speak to him."

Ginny had seen him in the great hall for breakfast. However, it was Saturday, and that meant that he wasn't attending lessons. He had left before she had, so he could be anywhere. She didn't fancy scouring the whole castle on order to find him. It was too big and too difficult to pin anyone down. She could always ask Harry for his map, but it wasn't worth the risk of incurring his wrath at the moment. The knowledge was still too fresh for him.

Besides, Ginny knew that she was probably just off in hiding, until the dust settled. She silenced the voice that asked where Hermione _could_ be, if she wasn't in her bedroom or anywhere else that she frequented.

Ginny considered the best place she would probably find Malfoy, on a Saturday morning.

* * *

Draco Malfoy was doing the same thing any student who played a sport would be doing at the weekend. He was practicing and trying to improve his Quidditch skills. He was zooming around the cloudless sky, and leaving all of his troubles on the well-manicured lawn of the Quidditch pitch.

He didn't notice Ginny standing at the edge of the pitch and watching him, for quite some time. She didn't yell for him, because he was unlikely to hear her at that height. She just waited patiently.

He finally landed and began to examine the twigs on the tail of his broom. The way the broom was flying was bothering him. It wasn't usually this jumpy or jittery when he sped up.

He didn't hear Ginny approaching until she was upon him. He blamed the wind for this. Not that he would have been able to escape, even if he had known she was there. He kept an unidentifiable expression on his face as he waited for her to begin. The sooner she started, the sooner she would leave.

Ginny squared her shoulders. "I know you're not exactly thrilled to see me, Malfoy, so I'll keep this short. Have you seen Hermione?"

Draco frowned at her. He was flummoxed at the question. He understood it perfectly well; he just wasn't sure why she was asking _him_. He didn't keep company with Granger, and surely she knew that he would be even less inclined to spend more time than absolutely necessary with her, now that he knew of her feelings.

"Why would privy to that information, Weasley? I try to avoid her as best as possible," Draco said, whilst keeping hold of his broom.

Ginny scowled but continued. "From what I can gather, you are the last person to have seen her. During patrol, or after, on Thursday night," She shifted from one foot to the other, "Do you know if anything happened at that time?"

Draco frowned. He remembered perfectly well what had happened. He shrugged and told Ginny about it. Her expression became increasingly troubled as he continued. He didn't understand what the problem was. He stood by his belief that nobody dangerous could have entered the castle. It was too well protected.

"You haven't seen her since, have you? Not in lessons or out of them," Ginny asked.

Draco shook his head. Ginny's worry was quickly turning into panic for Hermione, and anger towards him.

"And you didn't think that was weird?!" Ginny screeched, "Considering what you know?!"

Something stirred inside him; a strange mixture of guilt and defiance. "I'm sure she's fine. She's probably keeping a low profile after her stupid confession."

Ginny bristled. "She's a prefect. She wouldn't miss classes, even if it did happen to be because of someone as reprehensible as you!"

He'd told her everything he knew, so she turned and stalked off.

Draco watched her walk away. As much as it galled him to listen to a Weasley speak to him in that way, he couldn't deny that she had a point; even if it was a very infinitesimal point. He had just been so relieved to not have to deal with her revelation that it hadn't occurred to him that it was strange that she had been unnaturally absent in the last day. To be honest, he hadn't given it much thought.

* * *

Ginny found Harry and Ron in the common room. Typically, they weren't doing anything as mature as school work. They were playing gobstones and eating the last of their breakfast. They hadn't noticed her arrival either. They could never be distracted when they were challenging each other.

She sat down next to Ron, and opposite Harry. Whilst she loved Harry, she was still annoyed at how he was treating Hermione, after all that they had been through in the last six years. Love and loyalty was supposed to mean more than that. He shouldn't be treating her in such a way, just because she had fallen in love with someone he disliked. Hermione hadn't intended for it to happen.

She was annoyed by Ron as well. However, she had a feeling that if Harry learned to see past it, Ron would follow.

Hermione hadn't even done anything about her feelings. There was no reason for them to be behaving like this.

Ron looked up and smiled at her. "Hey, Gin. What's up?"

Harry looked at her and frowned. "What's the matter? You look anxious."

Ginny didn't have time for aimless chitchat. They were wasting time. "Hermione's missing. She hasn't been seen since Thursday night. I'm worried about her, and I need your help to find her."

She watched Harry's face become unnaturally blank and knew what was coming next. "I'm sure she's fine. I bet-"

Ginny cut him off. "She's not gone into hiding, or keeping a low profile, or anything else like that! She's missing! She's in trouble and she needs our help. You _will_ help me!" She didn't try to hide her anger at all.

Ron jumped and looked at her reproachfully. She always sounded like their mother when she yelled. "How do you even know that's true?" He grumbled.

"I just _do_," she snarled.

"_You_," she turned on Harry, "I need your map. I want to make absolutely sure that she's not in the castle."

At Harry's reluctance, Ginny finished with, "Please, Harry. She's your best friend. You'll never forgive yourself if something happens to her and you could have stopped it."

Harry stood up and went to get the marauder's map. Ron looked at her. "Do you think Malfoy's done something to her?"

Ginny sighed and looked down at the patchy hole in the arm of the sofa, studying it. "I don't know. I don't think so. There's no point in it. He may know the truth about her, but he knows that no one else does, and that she's unlikely to tell anyone else. You two and I won't tell anyone either.

"Besides, there's no sense in hurting someone, just because they love you. No, I think there's something much worse going on," Ginny looked at her brother sadly. "I think she may have seen something."

"What do you mean 'seen something'?" Ron asked. However, Harry had returned with the map and handed it to Ginny before she could answer.

She explained what Malfoy had told her. Both boys listened carefully. Even though they had had their recent disagreements, she could see the barely concealed worry behind their eyes. The three sixth years had been friends for far too long to _not_ worry when something was clearly wrong.

Ginny finished and perused the map. As she expected, Hermione was nowhere to be seen on it. She checked it two more times, just to be sure; still nothing. She looked up at them miserably. "We have to find her."

There was reservation in Harry's eyes and it fuelled Ginny's wrath. "Harry Potter, she is in trouble! Whatever she has done, it doesn't matter. Put your pride aside and try to understand that nothing has actually gone on between her and Malfoy. Nothing at all. If you don't help me, I'll go on my own, and then god help both Hermione _and_ me!

"Your stubborn pride may get us _both_ killed."

She shoved the map back into his hands and walked out of Gryffindor tower.

* * *

Susan found Ginny in the library. She was examining the lock to the restricted section. Ginny turned and acknowledged Susan's presence before inclining her head towards the lock. "Madam Pince says that she lock was fine when she came in yesterday morning. However, Malfoy says that Hermione showed it to him the night before, and it was definitely unlocked."

Susan nodded, understanding. "So someone came back and righted their mistake. Either before or after something happened to Hermione."

Ginny smiled grimly. "Exactly."

"We need help," Susan exhaled.

"I'd like to help, if it's alright with you two," A voice spoke from behind them.

Both girls turned in unison to face the owner of the voice.

* * *

Hermione opened her eyes, and for a moment, she was sure that she was blind. Nothing in the space that she found herself in was discernible. She was lying on the ground. Beneath her, she could feel dry, packed earth and gravel. She waited for long moments, as her eyes adjusted to the darkness.

She was finally able to make out a large chamber with rough stone walls and an earthen floor. It was large and dark. A flight of stone stairs led to a door which was closed. Considering the situation she was in, it was probably also locked.

Hermione groaned as she sat up. There was nothing else here, except for a plate of dried bread and cheese, with a glass of water. She ignored both of them. She also ignored the empty bucket next to her. She knew what that was for, and she wasn't impressed.

This whole setup suggested that whoever had put her here, intended to keep her here for at least the foreseeable future.

She decided that it was at least worth a try, to see if the door really _was_ locked. She got stiffly to her feet. Aside from a few stiff bones, she wasn't hurting anywhere else. This led her to believe that whoever had knocked her unconscious had used a spell on her, rather than hitting her over the head with something. This didn't fill her with much hope, bearing in mind that she hadn't heard any spell being uttered, and it was usually only very skilled, and powerful, witches and wizards who could use a spell so effectively, without speaking. No student had done this to her,

Grimly, she got to her feet. Aiming for the staircase, she managed to walk two feet before an invisible force field jolted her and, feeling like she'd been electrocuted, she fell backwards, and landed on her bottom.

Hermione looked around her, and at the clear four foot wide circle that had formed around her, on the earth, as she'd activated the barrier, and she felt a sinking feeling. This was definitely not good. Not good at all.

* * *

**This has been a long time coming. I am so sorry that it took me so long. In the years since this story was last updated, I have learned so much. Some good, and some not so good. I hope this lives up to the expectations that I have come to expect of myself.**

**Thank you for reading. Please review, and please don't flame. Thank you so much.**

**Dina**


	9. Searching

Disclaimer: I still own nothing.

**Chapter 8: Searching**

Still sitting on her bottom, Hermione looked around herself, at the room at large. It had been hours since she had activated the barrier. Nothing had changed, except that she could now make out a window extremely high up, in the farthest wall from where she was sitting. It was grimy, small and very wide. A tiny bit of sunlight filtered in through it. It wasn't enough light to distinguish very much, but she figured that there really wasn't very much to see in here.

From what she could see, Hermione had come to the conclusion that she was in the basement of a very grand house. Her initial assumption had been that Malfoy had had her kidnapped because she was in love with him. It hadn't taken too long to dismiss that thought, however. This situation was too much of an overreaction for such a revelation. Forcing someone to eat stale bread and cheese, and relieve themselves in a bucket, were a few steps too far. Even if the person in love with you _was_ someone you didn't like very much. "Oh, alright," Hermione grumbled to herself, "didn't like at _all_!"

This left Hermione to assume that her kidnapper was a death eater. She groaned as she thought about it, again. After a thorough checking and rechecking of her robes, she had ascertained that her wand was, indeed, missing. That was never a good revelation when you have just been kidnapped by, what Hermione could only assume was a crazy person.

Hermione stood up, resolutely. Sitting on the floor wasn't going to help her escape from the room. Unfortunately, sheer power of will was not going to be enough. She walked four feet forward, just shy of the circle in the earth. Reaching out slowly, she extended her hand millimetre by millimetre. She heard the sizzle of the invisible force field, just as her skin was about to touch it.

Sighing, Hermione dropped her hand to her side again. It had hurt enough the first time she had hit it. That memory was still too fresh to attempt it again so soon. It was good that as a Gryffindor, Hermione had an indomitable will and strength, but even she was losing hope. With no wand, no room, and no idea where she was, or who had taken her, she was losing hope, fast.

As Harry and Ron weren't even talking to her, she had no hope that they would note her absence and come looking for her.

The door at the top of the stairs opened at that moment. Hermione looked up at the silhouette and waited. She recognised that outline, and wished desperately that she didn't.

* * *

Ginny recognised that voice, and by the look on Susan's face, so did she. They turned and saw Malfoy, standing a few feet away. He looked extremely uncomfortable standing there, waiting for their response. Ginny could understand why. Even though he had helped to defeat Voldemort last year, he had been part of a large group of Slytherins. He didn't have to take sole responsibility for being part it.

However, here, right now, he was behaving as an outcast would. The only Slytherin, helping two Gryffindors find their fellow Gryffindor. Even if nobody killed him because of it, he was still very likely to be outcast from his fellow Slytherins. After all, when they'd defeated Voldemort, they had had a common enemy who needed to be killed. They hadn't immediately become friends with the Gryffindors, Ravelclaws and Hufflepuffs. Things still carried on as usual within the castle, even now. The Slytherins were still segregated from the rest of the students. This was their choice. Although, nobody was too distressed about it.

Ginny also noted that no matter how uncomfortable he _seemed_, he was still tall, imposing and self assured. It wasn't the Slytherin way to show weakness for too long. She shrugged and smiled gloomily. "We can use all the help we can get."

All three students walked to a large table with chairs, in the corner. They looked too strange as a group to go unnoticed, out in the open. They sat and discussed what they knew. Ginny thought that she should probably apologise for what she had said to Malfoy earlier, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She still believed that if he had mentioned it before now, Hermione may already have been found. She possibly would not have been kidnapped at all.

Ginny lowered her voice and looked at him. "Are you positive that that lock was unlocked?"

Malfoy frowned. He'd explained it once and he didn't like having to reaffirm what he'd already said. Especially to someone who had already pissed him off once in the last twenty-four hours. He just gave a short, single nod and turned to Susan. "She's not in the castle," It was a statement, not a question. "Nobody would kidnap-"

He was cut short as the doors to the library banged open and Madam Pince screeched about the indecent amount of noise, and lack of respect from the younger generation. All three of them looked up and saw a very red-faced Ron and Harry making hurried apologies and rushing towards them. Susan's eyebrow rose.

Harry and Ron stopped at the table and glared at Malfoy so fiercely that Ginny almost laughed.

Ron looked at his sister and explained. "We saw you on the map and were worried."

"We also wanted to come and apologise for last night," Harry said.

"It's fine," Ginny pulled out a chair. "Just sit down. We're trying to figure out a way to help Hermione, and we can't do it when you draw so much attention to us."

Malfoy dismissed them all with a glance and continued. "As I was saying, nobody would have kidnapped her and stayed inside the castle. If they could get in unnoticed, they could easily get out of the castle, unnoticed, with her. Also, it's easier to keep her hidden if she's in a poorly populated area. Hogwarts in not poorly populated."

Harry and Ron sat down; Harry next to Ginny and Ron next to Susan. Ron snapped at Malfoy. "You would know, wouldn't you? Being a Slytherin and used to manipulation and underhanded tricks. Where did you learn this? From daddy, when he was trying to teach you to join the family business and become a death eater?"

Malfoy stared long and hard at Ron. He could rise to the bait, and snap back, but he couldn't be bothered. "No, it's called common sense. Not something I'd expect a Weasley to be familiar with."

Ron stood up and drew out his wand. Malfoy smirked.

Susan, sensing this, grabbed Ron and pulled him back into his chair, hard. "Really, Ron?! In the library? After you've already angered the librarian?! Do you actually think she's not watching you, or did you even consider it? If you're stuck in detention for a whole month, how will you help Hermione?" She didn't yell. All of it was muttered under her breath, but all four of them heard what she said.

Ron turned even redder, and put his wand away. Ginny gave Harry a warning look. It said, quite clearly, that if he tried to start something, he would have to answer to her. Harry knew better than to try anything with Ginny around.

"What map?" Malfoy looked at both Harry and Ron. He had taken note of what Ron had said to the girls as they'd arrived.

Harry and Ron refused to acknowledge the comment. It was Harry's father's map. Ginny and Susan knew that it was precious to Harry and that he didn't want to share the knowledge, let alone the map, with Malfoy. As well as this, there was the possibility that Malfoy could use it against them at a later date, when this was all over.

"Harry, please," Ginny began.

Harry grumbled. "Why? If _Malfoy_ is right, Hermione's not in the castle and that means that the map is useless. It doesn't work outside of Hogwarts."

Malfoy's ears pricked up at this and he frowned. Whatever the map was, it was clearly important to them, and would probably be frowned upon by teachers.

Ginny took Harry's hand. "That's _if_ he's right."

Malfoy's frown deepened.

Ginny continued. "If he's wrong, then she could be somewhere in the castle. Hidden. Somewhere we hadn't thought of to look before."

Harry closed his eyes and shook his head. This was against his better judgement. He could see that Malfoy was just the same as he always was. It was a shame that Hermione loved him, but she hadn't betrayed any of them. It was all just really bad luck, choices and timing; on everyone's part. He felt bad that he and Ron had punished her when it was clear that Malfoy had done just the same to her.

With the knowledge of this, Harry was finding it even more difficult to understand why Malfoy was part of this group to begin with.

Ron voiced this point before Harry could. "Why are you here, Malfoy? It's obvious that you don't care about Hermione's wellbeing. She could burn, for all you care."

Malfoy didn't see the need to give a reason for his presence. "Without me, your chances of finding her lessen. Just be grateful that I am here, regardless of my motives and reasons."

Harry pulled out the map and gave it to Ginny. She unfolded it and set it on the table. Everyone leaned in closer. The only person who had never seen it before was Malfoy. Harry had forgotten to wipe it after they'd used it to find the girls.

Malfoy saw the layout of the castle, and the moving dots that were people. "Is this a map of Hogwarts?" Suddenly it all made sense. How Potter could get out of the castle without anybody seeing him. How he got into Hogsmeade in third year, without a permission slip. How they always managed to avoid trouble.

Susan nodded. "It shows everyone who's in the castle, with their actual names. Any spells, potions or cloaks that a student might use, does not fool this map."

Malfoy nodded slowly. "I see what you mean. So an invisibility cloak or potions such as, oh, I don't know, let's say the polyjuice potion, wouldn't fool a person looking at this map. They would know it was really someone else, by the labelled dot?"

Ron looked at Malfoy guardedly. "What do you know?"

Malfoy smirked at them all again. "I don't know what you're talking about," He looked at the map. "Do you just use it by trying to find a tiny dot with that person's name on it?"

Harry nodded.

Malfoy shook his head. "So what if you accidentally miss the person in a crowd, or if you're just looking in the wrong place and you keep missing the person?"

Ginny looked at Harry. "That's true. Have you ever tried to speak a person's name and see if that makes any difference?"

Harry shrugged. "No, I've usually been able to find people just by thinking about where they're most likely to be, and looking there."

While Harry and Ginny had been talking, Susan, Ron and Malfoy had been scouring the map. It was clear that they had still not found her. They were all looking grimly at the piece of parchment.

"Try it," Ron looked at his sister and best friend.

"Hermione Granger!" Susan yelled at the map.

They all waited expectantly, and nothing happened. Ginny sighed and shook her head. "Maybe that just doesn't work."

Susan considered this and then leaned down near the map and said, "Harry Potter."

The image on the map dissolved and was replaced by a moving picture of Harry in the library, looking extremely put-out. Every movement that Harry made, the drawing on the parchment mimicked. Everyone looked at Harry. His only response was, "Mischief managed."

The map went blank. It was one thing to think that something was wrong, to fear it. It was something completely different to know for a fact that something bad was happening here; something out of their control.

Harry glowered at Malfoy. "No matter what you think about your house and the people inside of it, if there is anyone inside this castle, who knows where Hermione is and in what condition she's in, it's one of _your_ lot. I wouldn't be surprised if a few of them also played a part in it."

Ginny could feel her panic increasing to levels that were scaring her. She looked at Malfoy, imploringly. "Please, Malfoy. If you want to help her, help us. Please ask one of the Slytherins if they know something. They are the ones most likely to know anything. Unless you can think of something else, some_way_, that we can find her, and quickly."

* * *

It had been four days since she had been brought here. This basement that Hermione now knew was Bellatrix Lestrange's. The one and only time Hermione had seen her since being kidnapped, was two days ago. During that time, the death eater had changed her food and water, and found the bucket to be empty. She had left without a word.

Once again, the door opened. Bellatrix walked down into the basement and flicked her wand. Balls of light shot out of the end and scattered themselves across the ceiling, lighting the room considerably. She walked up to Hermione, grinning crazily. "Awww, is wee little mudblood scared?"

Hermione squinted at the sudden light, ignored the baby voice and just raised her eyebrow in response. She waited for what wonders Bellatrix had in store for her. This little outing was hardly supposed to be a holiday.

Bellatrix walked back and forth, clearly enjoying herself. "I bet you're dying to know why I would accept your presence in my house. Well," She screeched, "_under_ my house, more correctly!"

Hermione's head rang with the pitch of the other woman's voice. She flinched slightly. "Yes, clearly _that's_ what's been bothering me. How dirty I'll make your basement," She crossed her arms. "I'm not going to tell you anything, so you can forget whatever torture techniques you have planned for me."

Bellatrix laughed. High and loud. "You've got nothing to say that I want to hear," She inched closer to Hermione. "I need you for something else. I need you alive."

"Well _that's_ a relief," Hermione scoffed. "Here I was, worried that you just wanted to kill me for sport."

Hermione didn't know why she was goading Draco Malfoy's aunt, but she couldn't help it. Bellatrix Lestrange had killed her cousin, Sirius Black, without batting and eyelid. Harry's godfather. She was clearly capable of disposing of one seventeen year old without too much trouble. Especially one, _unarmed_, seventeen year old.

"Don't think its gone unnoticed that you're quite a talented _witch_," Bellatrix said 'witch' in a way that made it seem like she had swallowed a handful of dung.

Hermione knew perfectly well how much Bellatrix must detest admitting that a muggleborn was a witch. "What about it? Why do my skills matter?"

Bellatrix laughed again and pulled out a wand. Hermione looked at it and her eyes narrowed. She recognised it. It was her wand, the one she'd been missing since she'd been kidnapped. Bellatrix twirled it between her fingers as she paced. "I need you to make a potion. One to bring the Dark Lord back."

Hermione rolled her eyes. It was always going to be the same. No matter what happened, idiots like Bellatrix Lestrange would always try to bring him back. This would never end. "He's dead! Can't you just accept it and move on?!"

Bellatrix stopped dead and turned to face Hermione with such a look of hate. "Nobody is asking your opinion. You're just here to do your job. However, if you ever speak so disparagingly of the Dark Lord again, I _will_ kill you and find somebody else to take your place. I'm sure that would upset wee Potter!"

Hermione levelled a look at Bellatrix. "It shows exactly how much you know. Which isn't a lot."

Bellatrix ignored her and waved her wand. In front of her, appeared a cauldron, a lot of ingredients; dark ingredients, and a book. She picked up the book and pointed her own wand at Hermione. The force field brightened one last time before shattering into a million pieces and dissipating. Hermione knew the force field was now gone, but she didn't move. That had been the one thing protecting her from the crazy death eater.

Bellatrix waved her wand around her, whilst muttering spells and incantations under her breath. When she had finished, she pocketed her wand, along with Hermione's. "I'll keep your wand, just to keep it safe. You'll be needing this."

She showed Hermione the book. It was entitled 'From Death and Beyond'. "I borrowed it from your most enlightening library. Study it. You only get one chance to do it right." She opened it to the relevant page.

Hermione took the book from her and looked at Bellatrix. "Why would I do this?"

"I kidnapped you, didn't I?" Bellatrix smirked. It looked a lot like Malfoy's. "Considering you're one of the brightest _witches_ in that school, what makes you think I wouldn't be able to kidnap someone that you love and make them suffer for your impertinence? Think about what you're willing to lose."

The people that she loved flashed across Hermione's mind; Harry, Ron, Malfoy, Ginny, Susan, Dumbledore, so many people. She would never risk any of them.

Bellatrix turned away but stopped. "And don't think about escaping. This basement is just as enchanted as Hogwarts. Only worse. It can't kill you if you try to get into that school. I wouldn't be so hopeful about this room."

She withdrew Hermione's wand and threw it at her feet. "Risk it if you will. Just don't say I didn't warn you."

Bellatrix shut the door behind her. Hermione looked down at book in her hands, at the page, and read it. Her stomach dropped. There was a reason Bellatrix wanted her alive. Not just to make the potion correctly. It required an 'innocent' to make it. The last ingredient was what turned her blood cold.

It called for the brewers' life's blood, the entire amount. The reason that she only had one chance at it was because the conclusion of the potion would kill her.

* * *

Malfoy walked into the Slytherin common room. He knew that the Slytherins were the ones most likely to have information on Granger's situation, even if it was a small amount of information.

The usual students were in the common room. Pansy was sat with Millicent Bullstrode. Crabbe and Goyle were writing rude words on a table and laughed every time the word disappeared. Malfoy rolled his eyes at all of them. He looked around until his gaze settled on Blaise Zabini.

Malfoy's intention was to corner him and ask him if he knew anything about any kidnappings, or dark happenings in the wizarding world. However, the look on Blaise's faced rendered that question void. The other Slytherin did not look happy at all. He was making a point of avoiding Malfoy's gaze.

Malfoy's gaze hardened and he looked at everyone in the room. "Everyone, get out!"

They all looked up at him, startled. Even Pansy, whom Malfoy could sense was about to start simpering. He warded it off before it could begin. "I won't say it again. Get out, all of you."

He looked at Blaise. "_Not_ you."

Malfoy knew that his reputation preceded him. When he was in a good mood, everything was fine. However, when he was in a bad mood, it was better to evacuate before the situation exploded. It had exploded on more than one occasion. Everyone stood and left as quickly as possible.

Malfoy took out his wand and muttered "Silencio," before pocketing his wand. The walls glowed for a moment. He didn't want anyone eavesdropping on this conversation. It could get ugly. He still wasn't entirely sure of why he was doing this, or going to such great lengths to achieve it. It could all end really badly, if his fears were at all accurate.

Blaise looked at him without saying a word.

Malfoy sat on the sofa that Pansy had just vacated. "I need to know what you know, Blaise. And don't tell me that you don't know anything. You're terrible at hiding things."

Blaise sat in a chair opposite Malfoy and sighed, but he didn't immediately respond. He seemed to be thinking things over in his head. Malfoy waited for as long as he was comfortable with; which wasn't very long. He wasn't known for his patience. Blaise had been part of Voldemort's demise, so Malfoy didn't understand why it was so difficult for Blaise to explain himself.

Malfoy pulled his cloak tighter around himself and tried to dampen his exasperation. "Did someone take Granger because they're trying to resurrect Voldemort?"

Blaise flinched; this just made Malfoy more annoyed. Flinching at _his_ name showed weakness.

All Blaise was willing to offer was, "Maybe."

Malfoy slammed his fist into the arm of the sofa, startling Blaise. He glared so vehemently at Blaise. "You know what it was like when he returned the last time. He killed for fun. He killed everyone, regardless of blood or status. You agreed last year, when you were there, in the thick of it, fighting with everyone.

"I barely agree with anything that Dumbledore says or does, but you know that he's right about this. There is nothing good about living in the dark and living in fear. I like power as much as the next Slytherin, but not like that. It's not right. I don't want to have everything that I do monitored. I don't want to have to follow somebody else's orders. I make my own rules and decisions."

Blaise frowned before he said, "If you really want to know what's happened, I'd look a little closer to home."

Malfoy shifted in his seat and leaned slightly closer to the other Slytherin. "What do you mean?"

Blaise shrugged. "That's all I know. Whatever has happened, it's closer to you than you think. I didn't even know it was Granger until you mentioned her name."

Malfoy sighed and made to stand up. He knew he couldn't get any more out of Blaise. Before he could get much farther, Blaise stopped him. "Whatever you do now, just think. Is it really worth it? The Dark Lord will return, eventually. We all know that. Some things, you just can't kill. Not for long. We were stupid to think that the last victory _would_ be the last. If you do help Granger, what will happen to you then? You'll have shown your allegiance."

Blaise stood up, trying to be imposing. "He knows that we were involved in his downfall. This is our last chance to show where our loyalties lie. If you help Granger, he will kill you. No questions asked. No thought given. Think about your parents!"

Malfoy scoffed. "You're right, Blaise. He does know that we helped to kill him. And you're stupid if you think that Voldemort will ever forgive that. He doesn't forgive. He'll wait until you have betrayed everyone and have nothing left. Then he'll kill you, just for the simple pleasure it brings him. Make sure you're careful. Voldemort has no problem killing his followers as easily as killing his opponents."

* * *

Malfoy sat at the lake and watched a tentacle from the giant squid get a little bit too close, again. He was planning a strategy on what he could do. Dumbledore had returned to the castle a few days previously. Malfoy didn't know if he was aware of the situation. His opinion was that they all probably did know. The goody-two-shoes, Gryffindors would have informed them.

As far as he could see, they weren't doing anything about the situation. That didn't surprise him in the slightest. From what he'd seen over the past six years, Dumbledore and the other teachers just allowed the students to put themselves into mortal danger, repeatedly. He didn't think that they were reliable.

If Granger was going to have any chance at all, help was not going to come in the form of her teachers. In fact, he was convinced that Dumbledore enjoyed letting children risk their lives.

Malfoy thought about whom he could know, that was responsible for Granger's kidnapping. He thought about his parents, but ruled them out almost immediately. He hadn't seen them since Voldemort's death. They were now neutral. They weren't exactly reputable, but they were no longer death eaters. They had supplied vital information to bring down Voldemort, but they hadn't been involved in the final battle, unlike Draco. Then, they had sold their home and relocated, after Draco returned to Hogwarts. They believed that he would be safe there.

When he finished this year, he would be seventeen, and of age; old enough to look after himself.

Malfoy knew that he only had a few options on where to look. He didn't have the luxury of being wrong. Any wasted time could result in her possible death, and the probable return of Voldemort. That would only spell bad news for everyone on the planet.

Malfoy was worried about what would happen if Voldemort returned. It would not be good for him, or the other people who had helped to kill him. However, thinking about the future, he knew which world he preferred. In this one, he didn't have to look over his shoulder and wonder if he'd made a mistake that was going to get him killed.

When Voldemort was in power, one mistake could mean your death. Usually after a task that was impossible to complete. Untrustworthy people have a habit of stabbing you in the back. Malfoy could live with the difference in blood status, the difference in wealth, as long as he didn't have to worry about his friends and family.

Yes, he'd decided to help save Granger before he'd known that the sole purpose of her kidnapping was to bring Voldemort back. This was because she was a good person and she shouldn't have to die because of it. For some reason, he had a compulsion to make sure she was safe. It had been coming on since last year. It was true that he fought with her; badly, sometimes. But he never wished her death.

They were like oil and water, and he found that he quite enjoyed arguing with her. He wasn't going to admit it to anyone, but he was going to make sure that she was found. Now, he just had to consider who it was that could have taken her. Someone he knew.

* * *

**I am very pleased that this update didn't take me years, like the last one did I am very sorry about that. I am really enjoying writing this story. Good things come to those who wait. I really believe that.**

**I hope you enjoyed this one. Please review, it helps me update quicker. Please don't flame.**

**Dina xxx**


	10. Answers

**Disclaimer: **I own absolutely nothing… in life.

**Chapter 10: Answers**

Hermione felt a great deal more comfortable, now that Bellatrix had left the basement. She looked at all the ingredients that she had spread around her. There was no point in avoiding the issue. If someone came to find her and put paid to Bellatrix's antics, then that would be great. However, until such a time as that occurred, she would have to brew the potion as requested.

Hermione picked up a bottle labelled 'Ground Erumpent horn' and sighed. She doubted whether any but a very few of these ingredients would have been found in Snape's stores. They weren't ingredients one was likely to come across, outside of places such as Knockturn Alley. She noted the Spirit of Myrrh, Doxy egg, Nightshade, Deadlyius, Unicorn horn, Dragon blood, Standard ingredient and what looked sickeningly like human flesh. She wondered how long it would take before that began to rot. More likely, Bellatrix had placed a few charms and enchantments on it so that it wouldn't.

There were a few more ingredients that Hermione didn't recognise. She didn't worry herself about them at the moment. She was attempting to read through the method and gauge how difficult it was going to be to produce it. If this was completed incorrectly, Bellatrix would kill the people in her life just out of spite.

She had hoped that something would need to pickle, stew or age before the potion could be completed, as had been the case when brewing the Polyjuice Potion. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be required this time. As Hermione finished reading the potion, she found that it wouldn't take very long at all. Two days at most. Two days for her best friends of six years to find her. The two people who were currently not speaking to her.

Even if they did try, how on earth would they figure out who had taken her and where she was before the potion was done?

No, Hermione wasn't holding out much hope at all.

* * *

"They took her because she's Harry Potter's best friend." Susan sighed and put her head in her hands. "They took her to get to him."

Ginny was sitting on the floor of the prefects' common room and staring off into the distance, a frown marring her pale complexion. Susan watched her for a few, long moments. When she didn't respond, she said, "What?"

Ginny looked at Susan, the frown still present. "That might be part of it, but I don't think that _that's_ the main reason."

"What's the other reason?" Susan asked.

"Look," Ginny pulled the throw over her knees, "Death Eaters are followers and they aren't exactly famous for their forward thinking, or intelligence. If they wanted to kidnap someone to hurt Harry, they would have kidnapped _me_. As far as they're concerned, the loss of Harry Potter's girlfriend would hurt him a lot more than the loss of his best friend."

Susan nodded and followed the train of thought. "Okay, so they kidnapped Hermione for something else. Couldn't it just be a simple case of her being in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

Ginny's frown deepened. "That's true, I suppose. She found that the Restricted Section had been broken into and they kidnapped her so she couldn't tell anyone."

"It's no wonder that you two weren't sorted into Ravenclaw." Draco Malfoy entered the common room from the staircase that led to his dormitory. He was sneering, as he usually did when he felt superior to everyone else. Considering that he _always_ felt that way, it was a wonder that his sneer ever left his face.

Susan rolled her eyes, and Ginny just watched him steadily. Unnervingly. Malfoy didn't flinch.

He sat on the sofa and watched the pair on the floor. "Granger bumped into me, remember? She showed me the lock. Whoever kidnapped her also collided into me on their way past me. They were quite aware that she'd already told me. They went after her _after_ I left her alone."

Ginny's expression turned stony at the reminder that Malfoy had just left her. He didn't look in the slightest bit ashamed at his words.

He shrugged. "If they took her to silence her, they would have taken me, too."

Susan closed the book she had been reading before Malfoy appeared. She stared hard at the book. "It's because she's smart!" She looked up at Malfoy, alarmed. "Ravenclaw! They took her because she's smart."

"Well done, Bones," Malfoy said, snarkily. "You get ten points."

Ginny caught up. "They're trying to resurrect Voldemort, aren't they? That's what the Slytherins told you."

Malfoy looked at them grimly but didn't answer. He didn't need to. They already knew they were right.

"Great," Ginny mumbled. "Just great. What else did they tell you?"

"Nothing much. I've been going through the list of people who could have done this to her, and I think it most likely to be a Death Eater."

Ginny scoffed cruelly at him. "You think?! If someone wants to bring Voldemort back, it's going to be a Death Eater; no one else would want that evil creature back! And, considering you used to be so pally with a lot of them, I'm _guessing_ it's someone you probably even know, _Draco_. So, who do you _think_ it could be?!"

Malfoy opened his mouth for what was, undoubtedly, going to be an angry retort, but Susan got there faster. "Stop it, the pair of you! If you start fighting amongst yourselves, you'll waste precious time and energy. That's something we don't have the luxury of, at the moment.

"Malfoy, tell us your theories. Ginny, go and get Harry and Ron!"

Somebody needed to take charge of the situation, and considering how often Gryffindors and Slytherins clashed when they spent too much time together, Susan supposed that it'd have to be her. She didn't like the idea of that.

Thankfully, Ginny stood and left through the portrait of the lion. It would take her back to the Gryffindor common room.

Susan sighed and shook her head. She looked at the silver-haired Slytherin and asked a question she knew she wasn't going to like the answer to. "Who do you think it was?"

* * *

Hermione held the bottle of dragon blood in her hand. It was warm, as though it were still a part of the creature it had been taken from. She was stalling. She wanted to buy more time for someone to find her. Her absence would have been noticed by now. However, she knew that Bellatrix would be back down, and soon. She would expect the potion making to have begun.

"This is never going to end," Hermione said to herself.

Sighing, she set the bottle on the floor, filled the cauldron with water and started a fire beneath it.

It was best not to incur Bellatrix Lestrange's wrath so early on. She found too much pleasure in torturing people who did not heed her needs and wants.

She added the standard ingredient and let the cauldron warm up. Pulling the pestle and mortar towards her, Hermione added the dried Hellebore to it. She ground in down until it resembled dust and then added three scoops of it to the lightly simmering cauldron.

At that precise moment, the door to the basement opened and Bellatrix walked down. Hermione had to quell the urge to smack that haughty look off her face, just as she had smacked Malfoy in third year. She didn't expect that Bellatrix would let her off as easily as Malfoy had.

Hermione didn't encourage conversation from the Death Eater. She was there to do a job and that was what she carried on doing. There was nothing that woman could say that would make Hermione happy, so she waited without acknowledging her presence.

Bellatrix didn't disappoint. "I assumed that it would be best to come down and make sure that you weren't cooking up something other than the potion. I know perfectly well what your stupid Gryffindor bravery predisposes you to do. How it makes you foolish enough to think that you can escape, even when it is clear that there is no escape possible."

Her voice was grating on Hermione's nerves, so Hermione looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "And what exactly were you expecting me to do with a bunch of useless, dark ingredients and no wand?"

Bellatrix's mean little smile reappeared and her look of triumph deepened. "Exactly. There's nothing you _can_ do!"

Hermione returned to looking at the book. "Well, as you can see, I'm flourishing. Honestly, there is absolutely nothing more that I could ask for. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to this. You can leave."

Hermione could practically feel Bellatrix bristle. She knew that the she-devil wouldn't take kindly to being told what to do, which was why Hermione enjoyed doing it so much. There was always the risk of the Cruciatus curse for her insolence, but sometimes, Hermione couldn't help what came out of her mouth. Especially around people she truly hated.

"How dare you speak to me like that?!" She screeched.

Hermione smiled to herself. "I know. After you've been such a hospitable host. How rude of me. After all, you could have left me down here with no bucket at all, and a smaller bed. I mean, you even took the time to decorate for me." She spared a glance at the tiny bulbs of light, floating up near the ceiling.

Bellatrix seemed to swell with indignation. Hermione just looked pointedly at her and waited for further retorts. When none came, she rolled her eyes and returned to the potion.

"Keep it up, Mudblood, and I will bring your little boyfriends down here and torture them in front of you. While you watch and are unable to help them."

Hermione knew that she was grasping at straws. Bellatrix did not like it when she didn't have the upper hand; whether it be in conversation or in a given situation.

"Okay, then," Hermione nodded. "Will that be all?"

Bellatrix sneered, flicked her wand at the bucket; which vanished, and then exited up the stairs again.

When she was sure that the Death Eater had gone, Hermione sat down on the hard floor, defeated. Showing weakness in front of her would only have pleased her to no end. She put her head in her hands and took very long, deep breaths. She was in a lot of trouble, now, and she had just started the countdown to her own death. With a heart that was heavy with her rapid heartbeats, she returned to the book and the potion.

* * *

The Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and three Gryffindors were gathered in the prefects' common room.

"What about Terry?" Susan asked.

"What about him?" Ron raised an eyebrow.

"He lives here," Susan explained. "If we discuss this here, he might decide he wants to help. He could be of some use."

"No!" All three men said in unison.

Harry shook his head. "The more people there are, the more that need to be kept alive and safe. We can't risk that. This is dangerous enough."

"It's always dangerous, Harry," Ginny argued. "But she's our best friend. The more people who are there to help her, the better the chance of finding her alive. The better the chance of keeping her alive."

"He's not coming," Malfoy stated, flatly. "And neither are you two." He looked between Susan and Ginny.

"Why?!" Ginny bristled, indignantly. She looked at her boyfriend and was outraged to see that he wasn't arguing with the Slytherin.

Harry put a hand on her arm. "I won't let you come. I love you too much to lose you. And I will, if you come."

Ron looked pointedly at Susan, not saying anything, but making it quite clear that for the first time in their lives, Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley wholeheartedly agreed with each other on something.

Ginny was about to argue and Malfoy caught it. He spoke before she had a chance to. "Look, you may be able to convince these two," he indicated Harry and Ron, "to let you tag along the majority of the time. I, however, am _not_ going to let you come. If you think I'm joking, I invite you to try and push me."

Ginny glowered so fiercely that her hair seemed to crackle. She shook Harry's hand off her arm and sat there, arms crossed. Ginny didn't like being mollycoddled.

Susan huffed impatiently and said, "Fine. But you didn't answer my question when I asked you who you think has taken Hermione."

"That's because I prefer to only have to say it once." He looked at them all and made sure that they were all listening to him before he continued. "There is only one person whom I can think of who is obsessed enough to try and bring him back. Someone who has no morals or conscience. Someone who is as close to crazy as you can get, without being officially diagnosed as such."

Harry thought he knew who Malfoy was talking about, and if he was right, it was very, very bad indeed.

Malfoy inclined his head towards Harry. He registered the dawning comprehension on Harry's face. "Yes, Potter, I _am_ talking about my dear auntie Bella."

Harry closed his eyes and took deep breaths. Bellatrix was very skilled in the Dark Arts and very crazy. Without any morals or a conscience, she didn't care who died or who she killed in order to get what she wanted. He opened his eyes and looked directly at Malfoy. "Where does she live and how do we get there?"

"We don't know that she took Granger to her house." Malfoy said.

"It's the only place we've got to start," Ron hissed. "It's better than nothing."

Malfoy grumbled and started pacing. "Just remember, she knows that I was involved in the fight against Voldemort. I'm not welcome there. I can't just walk in and pretend that I'm there to help her. I'm as much of a traitor, just as disowned, as Sirius Black was."

Ron bristled. "If you don't want to come, don't. We don't need your help. You're the one who said you wanted to be a part of this. If you're too afraid to face your aunt, we'll pretend that you weren't even involved."

Malfoy turned on the red-head. "I'm not saying it because I'm afraid, or because I want to back out. I'm just stating the facts. You won't be able to get into her house by throwing me into that situation first and hoping she's pleased enough to see me to be distracted."

He sat down on the sofa. "We'll have to fight our way inside. She has wards and enchantments on her house. It's unplottable to everyone except those who already know where it is."

Ginny whispered, "Like our house."

"Exactly," Malfoy said. "Like most of the old wizarding families. Especially Death Eaters."

"Where?!" Harry exploded. he couldn't take this skirting around the subject anymore.

Malfoy paused for a moment before he answered. "She lives in Southend-on-Sea. I'll take you there, but I can't give you the address."

"Why?" Ginny demanded.

Malfoy looked at the girls pointedly.

Susan understood. "He doesn't want us to follow them, under our own steam."

Both girls were angry that their boyfriends seemed happy with that decision. One look at Malfoy silenced any protests that either of them could have made. Ginny vanished all of the parchment and books they had been using for tips and ideas about what they could use to help Hermione. She then stood and stormed out of the common room, back to Gryffindor Tower.

Susan looked after her friend uneasily. Whilst she loved Hermione dearly, Ginny still knew Hermione better. She had also known her the longest of the two. She was sure that Ginny saw it as equal to a punishable crime, that she could not be directly involved in the fight to rescue her friend.

Ron looked at Harry anxiously. "We're going to pay for that one. But, for now, we need your dad's old cloak and map."

"How are you going to get out of the school?" Susan asked.

Harry looked at the portrait of the lion, through which Ginny had disappeared, grimly. He hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye to her. If something happened to them, it was the one thing he would always regret. "We're going to go through Gunhilda of Gorsemoor."

Ron was wearing his usual look of puzzlement. "Who?"

"The One-Eyed Witch," Malfoy supplied, unhelpfully.

Susan was thankful of one thing; at least she wouldn't have to bear witness to the arguments that were sure to arise between the three men. The fact that it was midnight meant that the only person they would have to watch out for was Filch and his cat.

Suddenly, feeling quite tired, Susan stood, kissed Ron and then left for her own bedroom. She wished them all the luck she could. They were going to need it.

* * *

**I'll update the next chapter as soon as possible. The next one will require a bit more time, as it involves the find and the fight. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I felt a bit grim, writing it. I'm eager for more D/Hr interaction, though, so I'll get there quicker.**

**Please review and please don't flame.**

**Dina x x x**


	11. Battle

**Disclaimer: **I do not own them but I like playing with them

**Chapter 11:** Battle

Draco Malfoy was allowed to be out of bed at 11pm in the evening. If anyone should happen upon him, he simply had to say that he was patrolling the corridors. Nobody would question him. Harry and Ron, however, were not so lucky. They were hidden under Harry's invisibility cloak. They had checked the map to make sure that there was nobody around, but that didn't mean that someone wouldn't suddenly appear.

They entered the third floor, Defence Against the Dark Arts tower and stopped at the One-Eyed Witch. Malfoy had no idea if there was anyone around, besides the three of them. Harry had the map. He waited as the hump on the back of the witch opened and barely registered any surprise. There were plenty of hidden passageways in the castle. Even doors pretended to be walls.

He didn't move until her heard Ron hiss, "Come on, Malfoy."

Without glancing around, Malfoy climbed into the hole in the witch's hump. This was just the beginning of the journey.

* * *

Hermione had been making the potion for six hours. Nobody had come back down; not Bellatrix or anyone. Nobody had attempted to save her, either. She was down to her penultimate ingredient. The Doxy eggs needed to be stewed for half an hour before they could be added to the potion. They needed a further fifteen minutes before they would be ready.

She was looking at the eggs with a glazed look. After this, the last ingredient would be her blood. It was surreal, thinking about the best and most effective way to cut yourself so that you could drain all of your blood. The book said that the flow of blood had to be steady and continuous – and should take four hours. The person to whom the blood belonged had to be alive and conscious until the very end.

From the way the book made it sound, the blood had to flow from person to cauldron for four solid hours. Hermione didn't know how that was going to be possible, short of dangling herself directly over the cauldron. Without a wand, that would be unworkable.

That was also assuming that she could find the courage to cut herself with the conclusion of killing herself. It was unfair to ask someone so young and full of life to even consider such a prospect.

With the fifteen minutes up, Hermione removed the eggs off the flame and added them to the cauldron. The mixture hissed and turned a poisonous, crackling green. She stirred it three times, counter clockwise and five times, clockwise. It turned bright blue. She was still convinced that someone would be along at any moment; still convinced that she, as Harry Potter's best friend would not die like this.

It was as she considered the dagger that was lying next to the empty bottles of potions ingredients that the door to the basement banged open. With an odd sense of relief, she realised that Bellatrix had been monitoring her progress somehow. That was why she had not returned to the basement to goad Hermione further.

Bellatrix must have realised that the time had come. At least Hermione wouldn't have to let her own blood.

With sadness, Hermione accepted that she had never belonged to this world that she loved so much. Not with these people who were so adamant that she didn't belong with them. People who had been trying to push, curse and throw her out of it from the moment that she had entered. She couldn't fight it anymore. She had already lost her two best friends, and without them, there was nothing left to tether her to the magical world. Malfoy sure as hell wasn't going to be the person to beg her to stay.

Bellatrix looked at the potion with evident glee and hunger. She could find nothing wrong with it so far. Hermione watched her and backed away slowly. It was no use, though. It was like Bellatrix had a sixth sense. The Death Eater turned her head slowly and assessed the younger woman as a starving tiger would consider fresh meat.

"Don't even try it, little Mudblood." Bellatrix pulled out her wand and wordlessly bound an unarmed Hermione Granger. She then proceeded to levitate her back to the cauldron. "Four hours of steady blood flow, straight into the cauldron. Fours hours and you'll be dead. No one will mourn you for long."

Hermione thought that was a little unjust. She still had parents who loved her. They would never get over the loss of her. They had allowed her to enter this world. Her death, as a result of it, would destroy them. They would never stop blaming themselves, even if her friends did. She couldn't allow that. She had found a reason to fight on. Unfortunately, it had come too late. She was already doomed. There was no escape now.

And, of course, Harry and Ron _would_ mourn her – even if they didn't like her very much right now. Ginny would also be beside herself, with Hermione being her best friend.

Bellatrix dropped her to the floor, unceremoniously. She picked up the dagger and advanced on Hermione. Hermione found that whilst she was no longer suspended in midair, she was still perfectly bound; unable to move at all.

Bellatrix's smile turned truly evil. "Lets see if your blood is truly as dirty looking as we all know it is."

Whilst Hermione couldn't move her body at all, Bellatrix grabbed her right arm and pulled it up as effortlessly as anything. Without another word, Bellatrix sliced open Hermione's wrist, right along her radial artery.

Bellatrix looked into Hermione's eyes, to see the pain that registered as the knife cut her. She smiled sweetly, the smile a homicidal manic would adopt, and said, "Just one major artery. We wouldn't want you to bleed too quickly and spoil all of our fun, now would we?"

Hermione's breathing turned shallow as she glanced at her wrist and saw the blood pooling. With another silent incantation from Bellatrix, Hermione's blood rose in a graceful arc and one end landed in the cauldron. It looked like a bright red ribbon turned liquid. Like red wine falling from a bottle, the wrong way. Defying gravity and flowing up, up. Bringing life back to Voldemort, as Harry's had done almost two years previously.

Hermione lay there in a painfully positioned heap on the floor, watching her own blood drain from her arm. Unable to move, unable to help herself.

Bellatrix cackled and, waving her wand again, a clock appeared. There to show Hermione that she had three hours and fifty-six minutes of life left.

Hermione knew that Bellatrix hadn't done it for herself. It was her final act of cruelty towards the Muggle-born.

Bellatrix pointed her wand at Hermione and muttered something Hermione didn't catch. However, her body suddenly sizzled, like static electricity was running through every vein and artery – as though something were living under her very skin. She took a sharp intake of breath. It was reminiscent of pin and needles.

Bellatrix turned away. "That's to wake you, should you feel the need to pass out. The charm will detect if your heart rate slows down too much and will send a lovely shock through your system. Think of it as your own personal wake-up call."

Screeching, in a way that made the floor shake, Bellatrix left Hermione to enjoy the last few hours of her life in peace.

* * *

Susan was following Ginny around the room like a bad shadow. They were in one of the disused classrooms and so far, Susan was unsuccessfully trying to dissuade Ginny from doing anything stupid in an attempt to rescue Hermione.

Susan tried again. "Ginny, you can't do anything!" She almost tripped over one of the chairs that were aimlessly sitting in the middle of the floor, waiting to trip up unsuspecting students. Susan wasn't actually watching where she was going. She was too busy watching Ginny.

Ginny whipped around to face Susan. "I can follow them!"

"No, you can't," Susan insisted, for the hundredth time. "You don't know where they've gone."

"Draco Malfoy is not the only one who knows where she lives." Ginny stuck her chin out and crossed her arms.

Susan rolled her eyes and righted the chair, shoving it harder than was strictly necessary under the table. "Yes, he is! She's _his_ aunt. Nobody else in this school will have the privilege."

Ginny grabbed Susan's arms, startling the other girl, who wasn't expecting it. "Susan, what did they say after I left? Did they say where or which way they were going?"

Susan, looking reluctant, tried to pull her arms out of the vice-like grip. She didn't want to get on the wrong side of Malfoy. However, she also didn't want to get on the wrong side of this Weasley – and this Weasley was currently much closer to her than Draco Malfoy was. "We could get into so much trouble. I could lose my Prefects badge."

Susan realised that it was the wrong thing to say before she even finished the sentence. The look on Ginny's face was comical.

"Who cares about a stupid badge?! This is a person's life we're talking about. Whenever it came down to life or death, Hermione never backed away. She sure as hell never worried about being expelled. It's the extra distance you go for friends. Besides, I didn't ask you to come. I asked for information. Nothing more."

Susan sighed and dropped her arms, defeated. Ginny was still holding on to them. She hadn't really been bothered about her badge. She just wanted to find any excuse to stop Ginny going after Bellatrix, too.

"It's my brother, my best friend and my boyfriend, Susan. Please help me. Please."

It was seeing the fiery red-head looking so uncharacteristically scared and lost that finally convinced Susan to give up what little she did know. If anyone had a right to be out there, it was Ginny Weasley.

* * *

Harry, Ron and Malfoy stood on the hill, looking at the huge house sitting by itself at the coast. Malfoy had been there twice in living memory. Considering that his aunt had been in prison from the time he was one, until just last year, that wasn't at all surprising. Harry and Ron could see it as clearly as Malfoy could. The house being unplottable didn't mean that it couldn't be seen. There was no Fidelius charm upon it. All it meant was that it could not be found on the map.

"Is your uncle there?" Harry asked.

Malfoy shrugged. "I don't know. He might be. Or, he could be out doing something else. I don't know how close they are. As far as I'm aware, their marriage is all for show. They both had to make good, strong Pureblood marriages. I don't think there is any love lost between them. Bellatrix's only true love was for Voldemort."

Harry and Ron exchanged similar looks. Bellatrix would be difficult enough to take on alone. It was better if Rodolphus wasn't present.

"Hold tight," Malfoy muttered. "It's going to be worse than a bumpy ride."

* * *

Hermione stared blearily at the ticking hands on the clock. The wizarding world didn't know about digital clocks and this one only had a minute hand, so she had to count how many times the hand went around the face. She thought it had gone around three and a half times, but she couldn't be sure. The world was starting to spin and blur at the edges.

Five times, that she could remember, the charm had taken effect and prevented her from losing consciousness. It wasn't in a nice and fairly painless way that an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator would have worked, either. Her body burned and ached. Her wrist stung where she had been cut. She felt far away from her body, yet it cried out at her to do something. To survive.

Her breathing had become ragged and she was struggling to focus on anything, even staying awake. If her calculations were correct, she had half an hour left. Hermione feared both another shock from the charm and the re-emergence of Bellatrix Lestrange.

Hermione felt her heart rate slowing down. She was still in the same position she had fallen in, being unable to move herself, in her bound state. Her legs hard started to cramp two hours ago and now she couldn't feel them. That was the least of her worries. If she died here, tonight, numb legs wouldn't matter at all. As far as she was concerned, her prognosis didn't look good.

Hermione fought as hard as she could, but she wasn't stupid. She was completely aware that most of the blood that should have been in her body was now inside the cauldron. Fighting to stay conscious was hopeless when most of her essence was also outside of her body; because that's what the rest of the potion was doing, it was taking her soul from her.

Hermione's heart took one last, hard beat before it stopped. She felt the charm activate again and she shook forcibly. Pain rushed all the way through her and zeroed in on her heart, forcing it to keep going. If she lost consciousness, the potion would fail. Her whole being trembled. The ground quaked with it, the walls quivered and the ceiling shuddered.

Dimly, Hermione registered that the whole building wouldn't be shaking with the force of the charm on her. No, whatever was causing that was something else entirely. All she could do was lie in her position and pray that whatever was happening on the ground floor, which was responsible for the minor earthquake, was something that was there to aid her, and not the consequence of the potion and Voldemort's resurrection.

The building shuddered, again, and Hermione heard Bellatrix's scream of pure outrage from above. She allowed herself a tiny smile and determinedly slowed her breathing down. A tiny voice in her head said, _so what? It doesn't matter that someone's here. You're already dead, anyway._

The tears leaked out as Hermione knew it to be true. She knew it completely and inexorably. There wasn't enough blood left in her to keep her alive long enough to get back to Hogwarts or St Mungo's and take a blood-replenishing potion.

* * *

The front door to the house crashed in as Draco Malfoy walked in with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.

Harry and Ron, wands drawn, stared dumbstruck at Malfoy. Whatever spell he had used had made the whole building rattle. The power that exuded from him as he'd wordlessly made the door crumple out of sight had even Harry gaping at him in awe.

It was evident that Malfoy had a few tricks up his sleeve that he'd kept close to his chest.

Malfoy pointed his wand at his aunt as she came running into the hallway, wand drawn and shrieking as she appeared. "Hello, aunt Bella. Long time no see."

"Draco?!" She cried. "What is the meaning of this?" She turned purple as she saw who was with him. "How dare you?!"

Malfoy advanced on her. He knew that her surprise at seeing her only nephew was what had stopped her from attacking. That would all change, and very soon.

Sure enough, a purple jet of light narrowly missed his left shoulder.

"She's alone!" He yelled at the other two as he shot a stunning spell at her. She deflected it easily. "Keep your wits!"

Malfoy moved sideways, keeping his eyes on his aunt. Harry and Ron sent their own spells at her, which she redirected with equal ease.

Bellatrix looked at her nephew with loathing. "I should kill you now, for what you did to the Dark Lord. You are responsible for his death." She wheeled around and sent a killing curse at him. "I don't care if you're my sister's son!"

Malfoy turned and vanished on the spot, with a loud crack.

Ron gawped at Harry. "Did he just disapparate?"

Harry gaped stupidly. Had he just left them? They let their defences down one moment too long. Bellatrix sent a binding curse and killing curse at them in quick succession.

It would have been powerful enough to finish them both off had Malfoy not apparated in front of them and put up a shield charm. It rebounded off the shield and went soaring straight back at Bellatrix. She stepped out of the way smoothly.

With the shield still in place, he turned on the Gryffindors. "Spread out or you're going to end up dead!"

Harry and Ron both acknowledged that Malfoy had just saved their lives. They separated as Malfoy sent one of the statues, standing at the wall, at his aunt.

She turned and transfigured the heavy stone into feathers, which fell over her harmlessly. Furiously, she sent the flames from the fireplace at all three of them. Harry turned them into smoke, feeling a brief moment of warmth before it disappeared.

"Where is she, Bella?!" Draco shouted at his aunt. "I know you have her."

Bellatrix cried out mirthlessly. "Who, the Mudblood?" She still looked at him in disbelief and took out Hermione's wand from her pocket. "Don't tell me you've carried on in your betrayal and are now dating a Mudblood. What do _you_ care what happens to her?!"

A muscle twitched in Malfoy's jaw as Ron sent a Reductor curse at the Death Eater.

Bellatrix moved another one of the statues to stand in front of her, taking the full force of the curse and sending the statue flying in all directions, in pieces. A moderate sized piece hit Bellatrix in the face and cut open her cheek. She seemed not to notice.

"ENOUGH!" Malfoy yelled, as the whole room filled with a bright golden light. Harry and Ron ducked as furniture and knickknacks went flying everywhere. There was a loud crash and something heavy thudded against the back wall.

Standing up from the debris, Harry and Ron looked around to see the chaos that Malfoy had created. Everything in the room was lying in a messy heap. Bellatrix was lying against the back wall, unconscious.

"What did you do?" Ron gasped out.

Malfoy looked at the pair scathingly and tied his aunt up with rope. He walked to her and took Hermione's wand from her, pocketing it in turn. "Come on, we need to get to the basement."

They followed him into the piano room and watched as he pushed an invisible door open. They rushed to follow him.

As they got to the bottom of the stars, they saw the most distressing scene that Harry could have imagined. Hermione cried out weakly as another shock sent pain all throughout her.

Ron ran to her but stopped suddenly when he saw the thread of blood connecting Hermione to the cauldron. Harry shot the end spell effect at her and she could finally move again. Her hand dropped back to her side and moaning, she rolled over, onto her left side. She whispered, "Three minutes," and finally passed out.

The connection broken, the potion immediately began to emit copious amounts of foul smelling, grey steam. Malfoy put the fire out from under it and vanished the potion.

Ron made his way to her slowly and took hold of her arm. He looked at the open wound on her wrist with horror. "How much…?"

Malfoy conjured up a bandage on her wrist. "We have to get her back to Hogwarts, now."

He noted her grey complexion and glanced at the book. Glancing at the book, if it was what he thought, they may already be too late. Something squirmed inside him as he saw her lying on the floor, looking, for all intents and purposes, as though she was already dead.

Ron put his fingers to her neck. "I don't know if I can feel anything! I can't tell!" Harry and Malfoy could see the panic rising on the red-head's face.

"_Now!_" Harry yelled.

They raced back upstairs and through the house. Ron carried her, reluctant to let her go. As they reached the front door, they saw Susa and Ginny running up to them, out of breath.

Harry and Ron could both see the fury on Malfoy's face. Whether it was because of the state they had found Hermione in, the situation, or the fact that the girls were there, they didn't know. Wordlessly, Harry took hold of both girls and then grabbed hold of Malfoy's arm. Ron took hold of the other and they disapparated back to Hogwarts.

* * *

**I'm thankful that I finished that. I hope I did it justice.**

**Thank you for reading. Please review.**

**Dina.**


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